


Love Is A Higher Law

by Walkinrobe



Series: Higher Law [1]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-06-25 07:24:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 31,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19740961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walkinrobe/pseuds/Walkinrobe
Summary: ..............Scott Moir is a gifted paediatric surgeon.Tessa Virtue is a enigma.





	1. Kaitlin

**Author's Note:**

> This is something a little different from me.
> 
> I’ve consumed four cans of Vanilla Coke. 
> 
> I’m wide awake. Probably for the next three days.
> 
> I’ve whipped up this lil’ chapter and i’ve not proof read it. 
> 
> But I still hope you enjoy!

Becoming a doctor is hard as fuck. 

People should rest assured that doctors really, really want to become doctors. Because it’s literally blood, sweat and tears. The doctor-to-be’s blood, sweat and tears.

Firstly, it is theory and practice. Then it is long hours and short tempers. Finally, placating people and dealing with a lot of rude assholes. And that’s just fellow doctors. 

Now that his residency is long over he’s finally wrangled back a little control over his life. But not without a significant casualty. Six months ago saw the spectacular demise of his three year relationship with his (now ex) girlfriend, Kaitlin. To say he was gutted is an understatement. We’re talking vomit-inducing heartbreak, snotty sobbing and depression filled showers. 

We’re also talking rage filled phone calls, accusations of infidelity and her eventual confession of being a cheating strumpet. 

Oh, and that especially nasty case of crabs that Kaitlin gave him. The crabs, that’s what gave away her whoresque behaviour, not a sense of decency, or guilt, or regret. A tiny parasite, (Pthirus Pubis is it’s bionomial name) found in two percent of the population at any given time, revealed her deceit. It certainly wasn’t a spoken confession from her mouth. It was the lowest of low points. Thank God he was able to diagnose himself. Half a year on and his crotch is still itchy when he thinks about it. 

To make it a thousand times worse Kaitlin shit where she slept. Because she’s not the generous, sweet, future mother of his children that he’d thought her to be. She’s a heartless hoe. They work at the same hospital where she’s an (admittedly brilliant) orthopaedic physiotherapist. She slept with one of their colleagues. And continues to do so.

So now, at least three times a week, he has to endure the non-remorseful, self satisfied, smug as fuck face of her co-cheater, Dr. Rhett David. It’s the complete calamity - Rhett is a super-buff but batshit boring records management specialist. He’s got a doctorate in archiving and metadata, he’s not even a proper doctor. Rhett’s current project is updating the paediatric surgery records. More specifically the paediatric surgery records of Dr. Scott Moir. 

Yes, that’s him.


	2. Mandy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott Moir always wanted to be a doctor.
> 
> But not this kind of doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m trying something new. Not writing 3000 to 5000 word parts/chapters.
> 
> Let’s see how long that lasts, hey?

He had no intention of becoming a paediatric surgeon. It wasn’t even on his radar as a possibility. 

But life has a funny way of pushing you in the right direction, and a not so funny way when the push is an unsolicited case of pubic lice.

He’s a third generation doctor. He has travelled the same path as his mother and grandfather before him. His Mom is a highly respected facial reconstruction surgeon and his grandfather was a technique pioneering orthopaedic surgeon. 

He planned to become an anesthesiologist - that’s where all the money is and you mostly deal with unconscious patients. It’s basically doctor nirvana. He would have laughed himself stupid if you told him he’d be working with kids. Yet, here he is, in the children’s pre-op ward dressed in bright pink scrubs and wearing a surgery scrub cap with sparkling unicorns and rainbows.

He selects his scrub cap based on each little patient. At the end of each pre-admission consultation he makes notes about their personality, about how to best deal with their apprehensions and fears, the very last line being the scrub cap he thinks they’d most appreciate. His practice manager, Lisa, buys the required scrub cap and neatly tucks the fresh cap into each kid’s medical file before they’re delivered up to the surgical ward. 

When he’s completing his post-op rounds he gifts the scrub cap to the patient. It’s been his ‘thing’ ever since he started his residency. 

This morning his surgery list starts with seven year old Mandy. She is a sweet, brave soul and presently one of his favourite patients. Mandy is also a huge fan of unicorns - hence his current choice of cap. Mandy has had a lot of surgery over the past year. She had meningococcal septicaemia about nine months ago and lost her right foot, three of the fingers on her left hand and two on her right hand. The thumb and index finger of her left hand were also badly affected and he was hoping he could save them both. He desperately wants her hand to have some functionality. But the scarring and a subsequent infection has meant that they need to remove the thumb today. He’s still hopeful she can keep the index finger. He’s doing his absolute best to make that her reality.

‘Ah, my favourite patient,’ he smiles to Mandy and winks to her mom. Mandy giggles back. Mandy’s mom stands silently, he’s met her on numerous occasions, she mouths ‘Thank you’ to him.

‘What cha doing in here today Miss M?’ he drawls as he sits next to her on the bed. Of course he knows what she’s doing here but he wants to make sure she understands exactly what is happening.

‘My thumb needs to go, it’s too broken and can’t be fixed,’ she smiles at him through teary eyes. He can tell she’s trying so hard to be brave and his heart breaks a little for her. This is a highly resilient kid who has been through a lot of crap this past year.

‘That kinda sucks, yeah?’ he nods slowly. He glances to Mandy’s mom again and an unspoken acknowledgment of this shitty situation passes between them.

‘Yep,’ Mandy cries a bit fat tear onto her hospital gown.

‘Has your thumb been sore?’ he briefly looks to Mandy’s mom and gently takes Mandy’s left hand to stealthily take her pulse before placing a ‘X’ on her forearm in black marker.

‘Very sore,’ she confesses.

‘So, I know that losing your fingers is a big deal, you are incredibly brave and we’ve tried so hard to keep this thumb but the thumb is not working properly Miss M, and that’s why we’re here today. We’re going to remove your thumb which is the bad part but the excellent part is it won’t hurt anymore. And more importantly it’s also the very best chance we have to save your finger. We don’t want the infection from your thumb to spread to your finger. And you need that finger for poking your little brother, am I right?’ he grins while raising his eyebrows.

‘He is annoying,’ she jokes. 

‘Being annoying is part of the little brother job description,’ he whispers to Mandy, ‘I should know, I’ve got two big brothers’.

‘Do you annoy them?’ Mandy probes.

‘Only on days of the week that end in a ‘y’, he deadpans.

Mandy ponders this for a moment. His chest tingles with happiness as her face reflects the exact moment she gets the joke. 

Kids. Fuck, they’re awesome. Mandy is the MVP today, losing her thumb but getting his stupid jokes.

‘That’s everyday!’ she shrieks with laughter.

‘You don’t say!’ he laughs back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, we meet Tessa Virtue


	3. Milly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A weekend with Milly?
> 
> Just what the doctor ordered.

He wakes on Friday morning with goosebumps. Good goosebumps. The kind you get when you’re excited. 

He’s got both Saturday and Sunday off work and it’s his weekend with Milly. He’s collecting her from Kaitlin’s on his way home tonight. He’s planned their entire weekend, grabbed her favourite toys and set up her bed. 

The cruelest part of their whole shitful break up has been fighting over custody of Milly. To be crude, Kaitlin has been an absolute fucking asshole about giving him time with Milly. And it kills him to think of Milly in Dr. Rhett David’s company. It raises some possessive, proprietary feelings from deep within his gut. 

Milly has just turned two and is the best company he knows. He never thought he could love someone so much. Especially not the world’s dopiest Australian Shepard. His dog has a big heart and soft paws - which is more than he can say about Kaitlin.

*

One shining light at work is his best buddy, Mack. He and Mack went through medical school together. It’s like the overworked movie plot, they roomed together at university, have spent more time drunk together than with anyone else and did a fabled European summer together. Well, what he remembers of it anyways. Let’s just say their studying years were, um, fun. As respected medical professionals they’re now reformed funnsters. Mostly. 

Mack is his anesthesiologist partner. They work together like a well oiled machine. He and Mack are able to communicate in glances and cocks of the head. Which is impressive as fuck when you’re wearing a surgical mask. Mack is quick with a joke when things get tense and has a disposition made of steel. They only ever play U2 in their operating theatre, a throwback to their boozy European summer. Most importantly, they do great work together, changing the lives of the awesome kids that are entrusted to their care. Mack has an unrivalled bedside manner and is impeccable in calming parents and explaining the complicated world of putting kids to sleep and waking them again. Mack is just an all round good guy. 

Which is why he’s grumbly when Meg, the fantastic head theatre nurse, tells him that Mack can’t assist on today’s surgery list. Jesus, he hates working with locum anesthesiologists - it’s boring and tiring and more complicated. He’s hopes it isn’t Brian Archer, he’s nervous and an over talker. 

‘Hey Meg,’ he calls as he goes over the patient file one last time ‘Who’s the locum?’

‘Not sure,’ she shrugs, ‘but it’s not Talks Too Much Brian. It’s a woman, she’s currently scrubbing in and getting dressed. I don’t recognise her. Will be in here in a sec’.

His mind runs through the possibilities, there’s some excellent female anesthesiologists he’s worked with in the past. He’d love it to be Clare Wells, she is funny as fuck with an great reputation. 

But when the door swings open he can see it’s not Clare. He’s not sure who it is but she has the most gorgeous pair of green eyes. He sees them crinkle as she smiles at him. It momentarily makes him feel skittish.

‘Hi, sorry if I’ve held you up, I got here as fast as I could,’ she says warmly.

He’s not sure why she’s apologising. She’s not late. But he likes that she takes punctuality seriously, it’s a good sign. 

‘It’s all good,’ he replies. ‘Scott Moir, thanks for coming’.

‘Tess Virtue, thanks for having me,’ she laughs with a kind ease. ‘Shall we get our first rug rat in here and get started? You’ve got an interesting list this morning, I’m happy to be here’.

Those huge green eyes look to him expectantly.

He’s blindsided. Tess Virtue. 

This is Tessa Virtue? 

The infamous Tessa Virtue from Hunter General Hospital?

Well, fuck.

He didn’t see that coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The infamous Tessa Virtue.
> 
> Why the infamy?
> 
> You’ll see.


	4. Timothy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes an old dog learns new tricks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Tess Virtue is a doctor. 
> 
> But is she any good?

It takes him a second to shake off the shock. This is Tessa Virtue? 

THE Tessa Virtue from the stories that circulated out of Hunter General a couple of years ago. 

She looks so... so... so... normal?

He gives himself a figurative slap across the face in an attempt to stop himself being such a judgey bastard. And to make himself focus on nine year old Timothy Pilgrim, who’s just been wheeled into the theatre with terrified eyes and shaking hands. 

But his mind is immediately drawn back to those rumours. What the hell was he expecting her to look like? This is intriguing. He hasn’t got time to consider this bullshit now but he is gonna call Mack as soon as he’s done with today’s surgery list. He is definitely not above unpacking some doctor gossip with his best buddy. 

‘Hey Tim, fancy seeing you here,’ he grabs Tim’s hand and gives it a squeeze. Tears leak from Tim’s eyes and slide downwards into the blue paper hat that’s covering his blond hair. His Mom, Belinda, is trying to be stoic but her own tears are threatening to spill. 

‘It’s crazy, right?’ Tim attempts to joke. 

‘That’s perfect because we only do crazy in this operating theatre,’ Tess says as she gently wipes away his tears and gives him a wink before also winking to his mom. ‘You’re in awesome company’.

He’s struck by the tone of her voice when she speaks to Tim. It’s comforting and confident. The cadence is affectionate without being patronising. He likes it. 

They successfully manoeuvre Tim onto the operating table. Tim is a wonderfully compliant little guy, despite his clearly evident apprehension.

‘Tim, are you, by any chance, a Fortnite fan?’ Tess reaches for the theatre’s iPad from Meg and passes it to Tim, ‘I’m having trouble getting to that safe house in the distance there. I would love it if you could show me how to reach it’.

It’s clear Tess prearranged the iPad to be ready to go with the required position of whatever game this is. He glances to Meg and raises his eyebrows, she gives him a slight shrug of confirmation.

Tim’s face lights up and he nods so vigorously it’s almost comical. Tess asked him the perfect question. He likes that too. 

As Tim is talking Tess through the machinations of a computer game, which is apparently named after two weeks of time, she artfully slides a mask over Tim’s face and releases a gaseous sedative.

Tim slowly stops talking and Tess grabs the iPad just as it tips backwards towards Tim’s stomach. No doubt she’s practised that before. 

‘He’s fast asleep,’ Tess turns to Belinda, ‘and he was a champ. Nice work in preparing him for all this. He did great’.

Belinda looks relieved. She finally lets her tears fall as she takes a big, gulpy breath.

‘What happens now?’ Belinda asks. 

‘I’m going to put a cannula in the back of his hand to give him a stronger sedative and some pain relief. I like to do it after the kids fall asleep, so it doesn’t hurt them and they don’t remember it’. 

Tess is speaking to Tim’s Mom using a modified version of the voice she used earlier on Tim, and it’s serving it purpose perfectly. Belinda’s change in posture communicates her relief at this stage of the process being done, her shoulders drop down from where they were sitting around her ears and she gives a small smile. 

‘Thank you,’ says Belinda as she looks between him and Tess.

Tess’ eyes flash up to Meg, who immediately recognises this as the sign to subtly escort Belinda from the room. 

‘It’s our pleasure Belinda, we’ll have Tim back in recovery in about an hour,’ he says. 

‘Thanks Dr. Moir,’ she sighs. 

‘Anytime,’ he responds. 

He looks back to Tess and she’s already discreetly set-up the cannulation tray and is about to begin. Geez, she’s efficient. And her bedside manner is great. 

‘I liked the game trick,’ he starts once Belinda is out of earshot.

‘I find it’s much more distracting than making them watch the beginning of a TV show or movie. When their hands are busy and their brains are engaged they don’t even notice the mask or the taste of the gas’.

He watches her gracefully insert the cannula into Tim’s hand. It can sometimes be tricky to insert a cannula into the kids’ small blood vessels. Tess does a perfect job on the first attempt. This is another thing he likes.

‘We haven’t worked together before, it’s great to meet you,’ he tries. He really wants to know how the fuck she ended up in his theatre, so will Mack.

Tess doesn’t miss a beat, simply tells him, ‘Clare Wells asked me to take on her caseload while she’s on maternity leave. She had a baby about two weeks ago. I think your usual guy, Mack, would have asked Clare to stand in for him today. And you got me instead’.

‘I’m glad,’ he says, the words out of his mouth before he even thinks about it.

Clearly, he’d prefer Mack. No one is as good as Mack. Except Mack.

But he’s starting to think that, maybe, this won’t be such a bad day after all.


	5. Meg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Virtue.
> 
> She’s likeable.
> 
> Which is surprising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for Rookandpawn and her yellow dress.
> 
> Good morning and good day.

It is an irrefutable fact that he and Mack start every surgery while listening to U2’s song One.

They made a drunken pact on their boozy summer tour of Europe that One was the best U2 song ever. Ever. The issue not to be debated again. And it hasn’t been.

By pure luck he and Mack managed to buy a couple of tickets, off a scalper no less, for one of U2’s sold out 360 World Tour concerts in Dublin. It was July 2009, at the beginning of their European summer adventure, that night was one of the most enjoyable of his life. When the Edge started playing the opening notes of One he and Mack looked at each other, sloshed their beer cups together, and had a toast to the ‘best night ever’. It certainly didn’t hurt that they hooked up with the girls in the seats next to them. 

Hearing the song One still evokes that lyrical memory of good times, warm beer and the best blow job he ever received. 

Tess’ head perks up as One begins to play. She doesn’t say anything but it’s clear she recognised the song. 

‘U2 fan?’ he casually asks her.

‘Tangentially,’ she responds, subtly nodding her head in time to Larry Mullen’s percussion playing. 

There’s something she’s not telling him. Holy shit, this woman has piqued his curiosity. He’s been in her company for all of half an hour and he has a million questions for her. He wants to start with ‘what the fuck happened at Hunter General?’ but he is also not a moron.

As Tess moves to reach for a syringe he sees her scrubs slightly rise up her side. He gets a peak at the soft coloured yellow t-shirt she’s wearing underneath. The colour is pretty.

Before he can think of a sensible question to ask the head theatre nurse, Meg, steps in with her own question. It’s banal. But it least it’s a start.

‘Are you a music fan Dr. Virtue?’ Meg enquires.

Meg’s eyes quickly dart to his, apologising for the boring question while simultaneously accusing him of not asking Tess anything more interesting.

‘I am. What about you Meg?’ she volleys back.

‘We are forced to be musical minions of the great Irish rock legends U2 in this theatre,’ Meg says in a robot voice, ‘It’s all Mack and Scott listen too’.

‘Interesting. Only U2? Why is that?’ Tess replies directly to Meg, not even glancing his way. 

Is she intentionally being obtuse? 

He gives Meg a look of warning across the table and also flashes a ‘please don’t join Meg in her bullshit’ look to his assistant surgeon, Emily Ogin.

It works perfectly with Emily but Meg carries on in a purposeful act of betrayal. Or is it simply she has zero care factor? He thinks it’s the latter. He loves Meg. Usually. 

‘It’s because U2 is a throwback to Mack and Scott’s wild pre-doctor days,’ Meg says, slowly emphasising the word ‘wild’ to very clearly suggest that those days were anything but wild. ‘They’re vicariously reliving one fabled night, of a summer holiday they took in the year 1847, through U2’s greatest hits’.

Meg! That fucking turncoat. 

‘Thank you Meg,’ he sighs. ‘For your disdain of U2, for your unwarranted criticism of our pre-doctor days and for your service at this hospital. You’re fired,’ he raises his eyebrows to Meg and gives them a waggle to show that he’s joking. Of course she already knew that. Meg winks back at him.

Tess laughs at their interaction. 

She has a good laugh. It’s clear and warm and inclusive, like her voice. There’s something about her, he can’t quite put his finger on it. He is drawn to her. He likes her. Not in a he ‘likes her’ kinda way, that is stupid, he’s only just met her. 

He means she’s likeable. 

Which is completely at odds with everything he’s heard about her.


	6. Emma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what scandalous, possibly anticlimactic act did Dr Virtue perform?
> 
> All is revealed.
> 
> Well, not all. But a little bit.

‘Holy shit, I miss having sex,’ he sighs as he rubs his hands down his face. He’s quite the fan of fucking. It’s sweaty and vocal and ends with an orgasm - all things he enjoys. And it’s been a significant period of time since his orgasm was induced by someone other than himself. In fact, his hand right is getting an absolute work-out lately. He should really wind back his masturbatory routine, lest he get a repetitive strain injury. He is a surgeon after all. 

‘What the? Steady on, old boy. Is this some weird ass way of trying to change the nature of our relationship?’ Mack chirps from his place on the couch beside him. 

‘You’re an attractive guy, Mack. Your salt and pepper hair does things to me. Plus you know I’m a massive fan of your new beard. It’s just the right mix of distinguished doctor cross mid-nineties boy band member’.

‘I do love me some Backstreet Boys,’ Mack responds matter of factly, ‘I’ll take it’.

‘And I’ll take the baby,’ interjects Emma, Mack’s better half, as she glides into the room, smiling, freshly showered and looking relaxed. 

Emma is an angel. Mack hit the jackpot. She’s a paediatric oncologist who they met at the hospital’s annual fundraiser three years ago. She’s American. But they try not to hold that against her.

‘Good call Em,’ he concedes. ‘Tippity top parenting decision, remove the chid, this episode of Games of Thrones is rather explicit’.

Emma just stares at him. 

‘This episode? How many episodes have you seen?’ she asks curiously, though he’s not really sure why.

‘Just this one,’ he responds tentatively.

‘Scott, every episode is a fuckathon,’ she says, holding eleven month Ava in one hand and putting the other to her face, her middle and forefingers forming a ‘v’, resting against either side of her mouth and her tongue wiggling in between. He snorts in response.

‘Leave him alone,’ Mack says while he condescendingly pats his knee, ‘Scott’s horny and in a dry spell. Although he’s just spent the past hour weaving Dr Tessa Virtue into the conversation every chance he could. Which was unexpected...’ Mack trails off.

Emma had turned to leave the room with Ava but at this revelation she’s stops cold. A look of scandal blooms across her face.

‘What? Why? You met her? Tell me EVERYTHING,’ Emma demands.

‘Ugh, we’re trying to watch my favourite fantasy civil war shagfest drama. I’ll give you the short version,’ Mack rolls his eyes. ‘She is locuming for Clare Wells, she turned up to do yesterday’s list with Scott, because I got caught up helping your Mom. Apparently she was excellent and I should start looking for new surgical partners. She also laughed at his jokes and is very ‘likeable’. I haven’t worked out what the fuck that means yet but I’m hoping to have gathered additional intelligence on that point by the time I crawl into bed with you tonight’.

This description makes Emma laugh. She kisses Mack on the head. 

He watches the interaction between Mack and Emma. There’s a such an covetable ease to their relationship, a tangible familiarity. She’s completely engaged in what he’s saying and Mack looks at her with a deep, genuine affection. 

It smacks him in the face, like it has a thousand times over the passed six months - he’s envious. Where’s his Emma? It wasn’t Kaitlin, he accepts that. He hopes like fuck his matching half is somewhere out there.

Simultaneously, he feels jaded. The wounds from Kaitlin’s betrayal are raw, barely healed and ripe for rupture. It’s an odd juxtaposition, to desperately want something but to close yourself off and reject it. He may joke around with Mack about it but the Kaitlin betrayal was truly brutal. He trusted Kaitlin and her perfidy makes him loathe to embark on another serious relationship in the immediate future. 

He’ll get there eventually. 

Hopefully.

‘Did she talk about the incident at Hunter General? Any truth to the rumours?’ Emma’s voice snaps him out of his moment of self-absorption.

‘No idea. She was excellent with the kids, wonderful with the parents, gracious with the theatre staff and technically just as good as Mack’. It sounds like he’s giving her a reference. 

Mack pretends to look outraged and Emma gives him a faux look of pity before plonking herself and Ava in his lap, then throwing her arm around his shoulders.

‘You know, she was cool under pressure and had a settled, confident manner. I really enjoyed her company. Can I imagine her slapping a fellow doctor in a fit of rage? Certainly not. I mean, the accusation is almost comical’.

‘I heard she punched a senior consultant,’ Mack offers.

‘I heard she back-handed a nurse so hard he fell on the floor,’ Emma winces. ‘So, do you think something actually happened or are the rumours bullshit?’ Emma cocks her head to the side.

‘I just can’t see it. But those rumours are still passed on like gospel. They haven’t gone away. It’s a mystery,’ he shrugs his shoulders. 

And it’s absolutely driving him fucking crazy, he silently adds.


	7. Hallie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Moir is in a pickle. 
> 
> Dr Virtue comes to his rescue.

It’s a week later and the end of a long day, he’s walking to his car, dialling Kaitlin in an effort to double check she’s going to be home at seven so he can collect Milly. It’s fair to say Kaitlin’s been consistently inconsistent at being home and ready to hand over Millie at the times she’s promised. It’s really pissing him off.

‘Kait, you agreed that you’d be home by seven. This is the same shit you pulled last time’.

He’s currently a five out of ten on the furious scale and he doesn’t want to rise any higher. It’s not a great look for the kind, calm paediatric surgeon to be seen losing his shit in the hospital car park.

‘Where the fuck are you now? Have you got Milly with you?’ he huffs, tightly squeezing a fist and channeling his frustrations into his fingernails as they painfully dig into his palm. He simultaneously gives a jaunty smile and friendly nod to the parents of one of his patients as he strides past them loading their four younger kids into a blue minivan.

‘Kaitlin,’ he says low and slow ‘I want to see my dog. You’ve backflipped on our last two arrangements. It’s not fair. I miss her. I want to take her full time. You’re not even trying to make this work’.

Kaitlin speaks and her response makes him grind to a halt about twenty metres from his car.

‘Where are you exactly? I will be there as soon as I can’, he promises.

He hangs up the phone and opens his hand to see four crescent shaped indentations in his palm. Then he gives a silent fist pump and mutters ‘Thank fuck’ under his breath.

In a bizarre turn of events Kaitlin has acquiesced and agreed to relinquish Milly into his custody - full time. And she wants to do it right now. She’s going out in 30 minutes and demands the dog is collected immediately. It makes him feel equal parts surprised, suspicious and ebullient. Scrap that, it’s primarily suspicious. But he’ll go with it if he gets his furry best friend back in his house all day, every day.

He jogs the remaining distance to his car and opens the door. When he hits the start button the car gives a warning chime and ‘Place key on start button’ flashes up on the instrument panel.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

This has never happened before. He tries three more times. Still nothing. He gets out the handbook and heads to the troubleshooting page. All signs lead to a flat battery. 

Motherfucker. How can this be? The car’s only 18 months old. 

Without looking he opens his car door and it thuds into a person standing between him and the car next to his.

‘I’m so sorry, are you OK? I was distracted and not looking,’ he gushes as the person moves forward and he clambers out of his car. 

It’s her green eyes.

Dr Tessa Virtue.

Standing right in front of him.

‘I’m fine,’ she smiles.

It’s a good smile. Great even. 

He realises that the vast majority of his time with Tess has been spent looking at her while half her face has been obscured by a surgical cap and mask.

She is beautiful. Her mouth is coloured with the perfect shade of lipstick and her cheeks are flushed pink and her hair frames her face in waves and her smile is amazing and her eyes are even greener than usual. His internal monologue is clearly gushing. 

He doesn’t know if he’s been silently staring at her like a dopey looking lunatic or those thoughts skimmed through his brain in super fast forward mode and only a moment has passed.

‘Fuck,’ he starts ‘Tess, sorry. I’m preoccupied. I have to collect my dog. I love my dog. From my ex. In the next 30 minutes. I’ve just won a hard fought and protracted custody battle. And my car won’t start. Did I mention I love the dog. I want my dog back. It’s a first world problem,’ he shrugs.

Now the words have left his mouth he realises they may have sounded a little batshit crazy.

Tess looks at him like she’s trying to figure out exactly what he’s talking about.

‘The custody battle is over the dog?’ she asks gently.

‘Yes,’ he affirms.

‘Your car won’t start and the evil ex is demanding you get the dog right now?’ 

He nods. 

‘What kind of dog?’ she tilts her head to the side.

‘Australian Shepard’ 

Tess raises her eyebrows. He has no idea if it’s a good or bad thing.

‘Please don’t tell me you’re a cat person,’ he blurts.

She laughs. He still likes her laugh. It’s warm and unfeigned. 

Tessa Virtue is so... likeable.

‘I think cats are the feline servants of Satan,’ she declares.

Now she’s even more likeable. 

Tess shows him her car keys. There’s a photo tag with her and a beautiful dog. It has a shiny black coat and is sitting next to Tess. Her arm is thrown around the dog and one of it’s paws rests on her thigh. Both Tess and the dog are smiling. They obviously adore each other. The dog is an Australian Shepard, no less.

He laughs.

Tess opens her car door and slides in as she speaks to him.

‘C’mon. Jump in, Dr Moir. Let’s go get your dog’.

*

Tess drives a stick and he likes that about her. He’s really not sure why. Maybe because Kait refused to learn. Or perhaps it’s the smooth way she’s changing the gears, anticipating the exact amount of power the vehicle needs at any given time. It reminds him of how efficient she was in theatre, her actions intuitive and deliberate. 

It also makes him wonder how intuitive she would be in other situations, if you know what he means. Holy shit, his sex drought is making him pervy. He shakes his head at the thought. But not before his mind momentarily wanders back to the idea of her perfect mouth doing unspeakable things to him.

‘OK, where is this dog and what is their name?’ her voice breaks his reverie. 

‘Not far. 232 Oakton, just off Mercer Rd. And the dog is Milly. She just turned two. I can’t wait to get her back, I feel like it’s Christmas Day. Is that weird? I have butterflies. And I’m rambling. Thank you so much for doing this. I can’t tell you how grateful I am,’ he does, in fact, ramble.

Tess smiles and unexpectedly pats his knee before returning her hand to the wheel. It felt like a completely natural thing for her to do, even though his leg now feels like jelly.

‘There is no better love than doggy love,’ she sighs. 

‘What about you? Who’s on your key chain?’ he asks while sneaking a look at her profile. She breaks out in a bewitching smile, one that lights up her entire face. Her eyes crinkle in the most lovely way.

‘That’s my Hallie. She’s named after my favourite band. She’s four and the best company I know. I’ve broken the golden rule of dog ownership and I let her sleep on the end of my bed. But I don’t care,’ she laughs. 

Best company she knows? That’s the way he describes Milly to people. Tess’ likeability stock goes through the roof.

‘Who’s your favourite band?’ he asks as they pull up in front of Kaitlin’s.

He’s dying to know. He suddenly wants to know anything she’ll share with him.

‘Hall and Oates,’ she reveals.

‘Hall and Oates? I did not see that coming. Are you serious?’ he snorts.

‘Careful Dr Moir, I’m sure you’ve heard of my allegedly violent reputation’ she sniggers. ‘You might be at risk of being slapped, punched, backhanded or bitten. Depending on which version you’ve heard,’ she rolls her eyes at him.

‘Well, you joking about those rumours is another thing I didn’t see coming,’ he laughs softly and wiggles his eye brows at her.

‘Neither did I,’ she exhales.


	8. Hamish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Collecting his dog and collecting his thoughts.
> 
> Dr Moir faces some challenges.

Sitting in Tessa Virtue’s SUV at 7pm on a Friday night - this is is not where he expected he’d be an hour ago. 

Sitting in Tessa Virtue’s SUV at 7pm on a Friday night, out the front of Kaitlin’s house, about to take Milly home for good - this is not where he expected he’d be EVER.

In fact, three hours ago he was up to his elbows in dead leg tissue, debriding Hamish Robert’s infected thigh injury. Debridement isn’t a particularly enjoyable type of surgery. But it is immensely satisfying to rid a wound of necrotic flesh. Moreover, it’s gratifying to send kids back to the ward with a vastly improved chance of recovery. 

In this case poor little Hamish stumbled while walking in a shallow barrier reef. He was holidaying with his family in Fiji, wading in knee deep water and following a bright orange starfish, when he tripped and deeply grazed his thigh on a coral head. 

Coral cuts are notorious for getting infected. In this case, the tropical heat and bacteria from the coral head led to a small infection. Once you added Hamish’s grotty eight year-old fingernails into the mix, and their incessant scratching at the wound, the small infection manifested into a serious ulceration. Intravenous antibiotics hadn’t halted the raging infection so debridement was the next step in trying to eradicate the problem. 

He’d taken as little flesh as possible from around the wound, trying to limit the disfiguration to Hamish’s leg while ensuring the underlying blood vessels and bone structure would be safe. Hamish has a drain in his thigh and is on another dose of highly potent antibiotics. Sadly, Hamish is in for an uncomfortable night but hopefully they will find a marked improvement tomorrow morning. 

But for now he’s with Tess, on the precipice of grabbing Milly from Kaitlin’s unkind clutches. 

It hurts his heart to think of Kaitlin as unkind. Because she’s not. Not really. She’s gentle and sweet. With the exception of that last God-awful week, his relationship with Kaitlin was great. He was in love with her, and he knows that she was in love with him too. To be honest, despite his bluster, he probably still is. They were planning their life together. Until they suddenly weren’t. 

What the fuck does Dr Rhett David have that he doesn’t? It still stings. A lot. The best times of his life were spent with Kait - talking and laughing and fucking and sharing and planning and just being.

And now that’s... gone.

He’s here with Tess and she seems shiny and new. Like a toy at Christmas. He’d love a new friend - the chance to get to know someone outside the Kaitlin sphere. Someone who isn’t looking at him with pitying eyes, because that’s how his family and Mack continue to look at him. His mom still pats his arm and gives a soft ‘How ya doing, Son?’ each time he sees her.

Tess is interesting. Not in a romantic way because he doesn’t want that. He’s nowhere near ready. But there is something about her, he still can’t quite put his finger on it. She’s beautiful to look at, but it’s not that. She radiates a humility and generosity that is attractive on a emotional level. He’s glimpsed what he suspects is a wicked sense of humour and she is undoubtedly great at her job.

‘You wanna tell me about the rumours?’ he probes.

She gives a shy smile. Shy. This is new.

‘I do. I will,’ she offers, ‘but right now I really want to see you cuddle your dog’.

‘I want that too. You gonna come with or wait here?’

‘I’ll wait here. Best you sort it out with your ex without an audience. Just pop Milly on the back seat when you return, it’s already set up with a dog seatbelt and mat’.

Tess unexpectedly reaches out and squeezes his hand. 

‘I’m glad you’re getting your Milly. My Hallie means everything to me and I’d be devastated if she wasn’t with me’. Her green eyes bore straight into him. 

Her sincerity and candour seems to consume the car, leaching into all the unfilled spaces. He’s grateful for her thoughtfulness but he wants to escape it. It feels like it’s suffocating him. He nods and opens the car door.

What the hell just happened? Why is he having a visceral reaction to a colleague’s kindness? What she said was completely appropriate and measured. He’s rattled by the way he feels.

He shakes his head as he jogs up Kaitlin’s front steps. He raises his hand to knock as the door flies open.

It’s Dr. Rhett David.


	9. Rhett

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doggies and debridements. 
> 
> It’s all happening for Drs Virtue and Moir.

The door opens. It’s Dr. Rhett David. 

The moron is loosely holding Milly’s lead while she sulks at his side. Her head is down and her tail is resting between her legs. He knows his dog, she’s not happy.

‘Milly girl,’ he croons as he snatches the lead from the asshole in front of him. Milly’s head snaps up and her front paws leave the ground to land on his chest. The heavy weight feels welcome. His hands intuitively reach for her ears, giving them a thorough scratch. Milly turns her face to rub her snout against his palm. His heart races as it hits him how much he has missed his dog. Milly greedily licks his hands while her tail twirls like a helicopter rotor. He is definitely not a fan of Milly licking people but he immediately forgives her transgression, just this once, because he’s so fucking happy to see her. 

Dr. Rhett David thrusts a plastic bag of dog paraphernalia in his face. 

‘This is the dog’s and Kaitlin asked if you wouldn’t mind taking it too, please’ he says pleasantly. 

He’s like the robot barman out of that space movie with Scarlett Johansen and Chris Pratt - you’re almost convinced he’s human but you know that behind the veneer there is no substance. 

‘Is Kait here?’ he enquires of the records expert.

‘She isn’t,’ is the factual response. 

Fuck. This guy is like a personality black hole. All colour and movement in his immediate vicinity seems to be caught up and sucked into him, never to be seen again. 

Surely he can’t be good in the sack.

‘OK, thanks’ he offers to Dr. Rhett David as he turns to descend down the steps.

‘You’re welcome. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at our records management session,’ comes the sincere response. 

He’s shaking his head as he walks away from Kaitlin’s front door, just as he was when he was walking towards her front door. This time for a different reason.

He smiles to Tess as he bounces to the car. She smiles back. But something is off. Her eyes aren’t crinkling like they do when she smiles properly.

He bundles Milly into the back seat. She’s busily sniffing the car, seeking out the four legged owner of the scent she’s caught.

Tess spins around and gives Milly’s head an affectionate ruffle. Milly is wearing her happy face and laps up Tess’ attention. He’s not surprised. 

‘Why hello Miss Milly, nice to have you join us,’ Tess smiles. It still doesn’t reach her eyes. 

He likes the way Tess speaks to his dog. It’s the same way he speaks to Milly - like she’s a person rather than a canine.

‘And how are you feeling Dr. Moir?’ she asks as he climbs into the passenger seat.

‘Relieved. Grateful. Happy. Tired. Hungry. Optimistic’ he responds at all once. Fuck. Why does he keep doing that?

‘That’s a full deck you’ve got there,’ Tess chuckles. ‘How was the ex? The discussion with him seemed very civil from what I could see’. Her tone of voice is very guarded. He isn’t sure why.

He? Huh. Oh. Dr. Rhett David. 

‘OK, yeah. That wasn’t the ex. My ex-partner is Kaitlin,’ he hopes that sounds casual and not pointed, he doesn’t want to sound like a homophobic fuckwit. Because he’s not. His brother Charlie is gay and his level of comfortability around gay people runs at 150%.

‘Kaitlin couldn’t be bothered sticking around. So she left the dog with her new partner, Dr. Rhett David. The depressing short version is that Kait was fucking him behind my back, essentially setting fire to three great years of my life’.

Shit. That was not what he was intending to say. All those words just poured out of him like emotional vomit.

‘Rhett David, the records guy? He’s your arch nemesis?’ Tess squeaks. 

He nods.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she frowns.

‘Me too. There’s a lovely two carat diamond engagement ring in my sock drawer, if your looking to buy one,’ he attempts a joke. Except it’s not a joke. 

‘Oh, Scott,’ she reaches over and squeezes his hand again but this time is perfect. It feels comforting and deserved. It’s the only time she’s ever called him by his first name.

He takes a deep breath.

‘Honestly? It was pretty shitty, Tess’.

She’s still holding his hand. Sweeping her thumb across his carpal bones. He squeezes it back. 

‘I bet,’ she affirms. 

*

He goes to open his mouth to speak when his phone starts beeping. He knows what it is before even looking - Hamish Roberts. Tess knows from the message tone it’s the hospital and tilts her head indicating he should take a look.

It’s an emergency callback to the hospital, Hamish’s temperature has spiked and his wound is inflamed. The infection isn’t under control. 

Immediately the phone starts ringing. It’s Mack. He’s the on-call anesthesiologist and received the same message. He can’t make it to the hospital because he’s unexpectedly helping Emma’s mom again. Mack asks if he should suggest another anesthesiologist. He looks to Tess, she can hear the conversation. ‘It’s OK, I can do it,’ she mouths. He tells Mack not to worry and that he’s got it in hand.

‘Drop off Milly at your place and head back to the hospital?’ Tess suggests.

‘Yep’. 

He calls the hospital to ask them to have the on-call reconstructive surgeon come in to assist. He’s going to need some specialist advice on how to best deal with this wound. While he’s confident in his debridement skills he wants an expert to help decide on the most effective way of repairing the tissue and skin. He wants to do the best job possible for Hamish and not adversely affect his leg’s range of movement. He also wants to minimise what’s going to be a significant scar.

They safely deliver Milly to his place. She’s completely confused about what’s going on, devastated that he’s not staying at home and starts crying as he shuts his front door. The doggy guilt is real and overwhelming.

‘Was Milly OK?’ Tess asks as he jumps back into the car, putting her phone away, she’d been reading Hamish’s notes in preparation for surgery. He likes her attention to detail.

‘Nope,’ he answers.

Tess sighs, ‘Shit. Wanna to talk about it?’ 

‘I do not. I just want to get back home to my dog as quickly as possible’. 

He turns to Tess and exhales loudly.

‘I hear you,’ Tess glances at him while she simultaneously changes lanes, shifts into fourth gear, tucks her hair behind her ear and turns up the heating a little. It’s impressive. 

‘Righto. Let’s go sort out this leg’.


	10. Alma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes mother knows best.
> 
> Hold on to your hats, we’re almost to the good stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I’m just basing poor little Hamish’s coral cut situation on a family member’s personal experience. I have not researched this. Coral cuts are evil! Medical types persons will need to ignore the errors ;)

He’s feeling like an asshole for wishing he was home with his dog. 

Hamish’s leg is in a bad way. Actually, bad is, in fact, an understatement. The infection has flourished in the last few hours, overwhelming Hamish’s immune system and he is at significant risk of blood poisoning. They need to do something fast. The position of the wound and the way the infection is creeping up his thigh means Hamish is at risk of losing his leg. Or worse. 

The surgical team assembles for a pre-surgery briefing and stand huddled around a bank of computer screens showing bloodwork results and a series of wound images taken over the last six hours. Emily Ogin, the assistant surgeon, inhales a sharp breath when they flick to the most recent image. 

Emily looks and him and mouths ‘Fuck’. 

Fuck, indeed. 

Standing with them are a flock of theatre staff and an infection specialist, Dr Jim Maxwell. He’s worked with him before, Jim tends to be very risk adverse - which is a good and bad thing. The reconstruction specialist has been delayed but they decide to get started given the risks to Hamish of postponing surgery for even another 30 minutes. 

‘Get the theatre staff to have an upper thigh amputation kit ready,’ Jim solemnly suggests. 

‘I’ve already arranged it,’ he responds. 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He momentarily considers if he should have taken a wider margin in the debridement. But the bloodwork shows that the infection was already well established in Hamish’s blood stream prior to the debridement. Still, he can’t help wondering. 

As he’s standing next to Tess, scrubbing his hands with bright pink soap and discussing Hamish’s capacity tolerate to the surgery, the reconstructive surgeon bustles in. He turns to his left to greet them.

‘Mom! It’s you,’ he startles. 

He’s surprised, he had no idea Alma was on-call tonight. He didn’t even think she was on the on-call roster at all anymore. 

He and his Mom have only ever worked together once before, in similar circumstances - unexpectantly and in an emergency. They try to avoid working together. 

‘It’s a long story, but yes, it’s me. You want to fill me in? I’ve seen the blood results and images. We’ve got out work cut out for us’.

‘Agreed,’ he nods.

Then he remembers Tess is standing to his right. He feels a little flustered. He has no idea why. 

‘Mom, this is Dr Tessa Virtue, our anesthesiologist’ he states. 

Our? Did he say ‘our’?

‘Hi Alma, it’s great to see you again. How have you been?’ Tess asks his mom.

‘Wonderful Tess, what about you?’ his mom says in the voice she reserves for people she really likes. 

What? They know each other? 

He shouldn’t be surprised about anything involving Dr Tessa Virtue. 

But still, he is. 

*

Hamish is settled on the operating table and Tess is having a detailed conversation with him about the merits of Ninjago LEGO verses LEGO Technics. 

From out of nowhere she pulls an almost completed LEGO space shuttle. This woman is incredible, still impressing him with her chronic likeability.

‘That’s the Mars Research Shuttle,’ whispers Hamish. 

This kid is sick but he’s a champ. 

‘You know your LEGO Hamish,’ Tess says is her anesthesiologist voice. ‘I’m impressed! You wanna see if you can add these last two pieces?’ 

Tess passes him two fin shaped bits of LEGO. Hamish slides them onto the end of the shuttle as Tess slowly slips the mask over his mouth. 

Hamish loses consciousness and Tess expertly grabs the LEGO before it tumbles into the floor. Hamish’s Mom, Renee, immediately burst into tears. 

‘Is Hamish going to lose his leg?’ Renee asks in a shaky voice. 

Oof. Her question hits him straight in the gut. 

I really hope not, he thinks. 

‘There are nine medical staff in this theatre and each of us are going to do everything we can to stop that happening,’ he says calmly and firmly while looking Renee right in her eyes. 

She takes a shuddering breath and nods her head. 

‘We’re going to take excellent care of him and we will keep you updated. Like we discussed outside, if it gets to the stage where we need to make decisions about his leg I will come and speak with you first. OK?’

‘Thank you. Yes, I want to know before you do anything radical,’ Renee demands.

‘Of course,’ he promises. 

*

Working with kids has it’s good and bad days. He is still emotionally affected by each of his little patients. He’s already decided that when he no longer feels that tug on his heartstrings he knows he needs to find a different job. With kids there are exquisite moments of joy buried within disappointments and tragedy. When it’s bad it’s catastrophically bad. 

But not today.

Despite Hamish throwing Tess a few curve balls she managed to keep his vitals stable and him beautifully sedated long enough for them to debride the wound again and insert a central venous catheter. The catheter is to make it easier to administer the antibiotics and to facilitate the ongoing drawing blood. Poor Hamish has had a harrowing 24 hours and they want him rested and calm. He finds drawing blood stressful and the veins in his arms have taken a beating, At this point, Hamish is keeping his leg but he is nowhere near out of the woods. Jim is going to stay in ICU with Hamish over the next few hours to closely monitor his condition and the performance of the antibiotics.

*

‘I’ve got the next three days off and I’ll be taking Hallie to the dog park on Risemount Crescent each morning if you interested,’ Tess smiles at him as she grabs her handbag out of the locker.

He’s taken aback.

What is this? Is she asking him out? Is this a date? It doesn’t sound like a date. But it could be? Why is she asking him to the park? Panic rises in his chest. He feels like a thirteen year old awkwardly talking to a girl in the school cafeteria. 

Tess looks serene. 

‘Milly loves that park. I took her when I was dog sitting her on that weekend you and Mack went camping,’ his mom’s voice interrupts his confusion. The awkward feeling ramps up by one hundred. Fuck. Not cool Alma. He doesn’t need his mom as his wingman. 

Tess looks at him expectantly.

‘Yeah, that’s sounds great, I’m sure Milly could do with a good run around. 9am too early?’ he says in a voice that he hopes is even and clear.

‘I’m a morning person. 9am is great. I’ll be easy to find. I’ll be the one with the most adorable dog,’ she shrugs.

He laughs. Not a chance in hell will Hallie be more adorable than Milly.

Her likeability beacon is flashily at him mercilessly.

He has no idea why she makes him feel like a teenager. (In twelve months time he’ll work out he was a delusion idiot).

‘Great, see you in the morning,’ he nods.

*

Given his car is still toast his mom drives him home. He’s way too tired to worry about his car tonight. 

‘OK, spill it, how do you know Tess Virtue? And are the rumours true?’ he side eyes his mom.

‘I was her mentor in the Women In Medicine programme’.

‘Ah, I did not know that,’ he’s surprised.

‘Well, you wouldn’t, it’s not something I’ve told you before,’ his mom laughs.

‘So, did she slap-slash-punch-slash-bite-slash-backhand someone?’

His Mom sighs. They’re stopped at a traffic light. She turns to face him.

‘You need ask Tess what happened. And be gentle with her Scott. She’s an excellent doctor. Technically proficient and wonderful with the kids. She’s had a rough time and could do with a good friend’.

His mom reaches over and affectionately rubs his cheek in the comforting way she used to do when he was a kid.

She looks at him in that way only your mom can, like she knows him inside-out.

‘And so could you,’ she says softly.


	11. Tessa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm!
> 
> The dog parks bring some confessions.
> 
> And kisses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, all the home truths.
> 
> Enjoy.

He wakes in a cold sweat. Heart pounding. Fuck. He sits up and chugs the entire bottle of water from his bedside table.

That’s the second nightmare he’s had tonight. His subconscious is being a bastard, reverting to its time-honoured trick of simultaneously playing out his fears and catastrophising worst case scenarios.

This time it’s all about a fucking doggy play date.

Or is it?

In the first dream he let Milly off her lead at the dog park and she’d run away. He found her happily in the arms of the Leaf’s mascot, Carlton the Bear. Despite his pleading, Milly wouldn’t come to him when he’d called. So he decided to retrieve her from the mascot’s arms, at which point Carlton’s mouth opened in a grotesque mess of teeth, tongue and spit. He fell, head first, into the mouth, endlessly flailing about in a dark, cold abyss as pictures of a crying Milly flashed up on the walls.

Holy shit.

The second dream was completely different but equally as horrifying. He met Tess as the dog park and they’d run into Jon Taveres with his teeny little chihuahua. He introduced Jon to Tess and they immediately hit it off. They asked him to hang onto their dogs’ leads while they dropped to the floor and fucked the living daylights out of each other right in front of him. Despite his attempts to leave, he was rooted to the spot and couldn’t move away. Jon’s foot was banging into his shoe as he pounded into Tess saying ‘You like it like this, don’t you Dr Virtue?’ over and over again.

He’s not completely useless; he knows what this is about. Tess. She’s making him feel a thousand things at once. She intrigues him. She’s great at her job. She’s funny. She’s kind. She loves her dog. She knows his mom. She’s not Kaitlin. 

Then the penny drops. He thinks that it is. 

She. Is. Not. Kaitlin.

And he’s starting to realise that’s a good thing.

*

He gets to the dog park early. Tess is already there. She has two coffees. He looks to his own hands, also holding two coffees. They look at the four coffees and laugh.

‘How very Canadian of us,’ Tess grins.

‘Oh, you think this second coffee is for you? This is for Milly,’ he deadpans.

‘You got jokes,’ she nods, ‘sadly not very good ones’.

She smiles that smile that makes her eyes crinkle. 

This is a woman that is going to keep him on his toes. 

He likes it.

*

Milly and Hallie become firm friends, bouncing around each other like puppies and being generally lovable together. He’s not surprised in the slightest, Milly is the most sociable dog he’s owned. He and Tess sit themselves on a park bench and take turns to throw sticks to the dogs. The morning sun is shining and it’s warm, the whole scene is reminiscent of a rom-com montage. And he’s here for it.

They talk about work and people they know and university and his mom and their families and a hundred other things. The conversation is easy and funny and her damn likeability is hitting stratospheric proportions. The fact that she is not Kaitlin has moved from being a good thing to being a very fucking good thing.

Before he realises it, they’ve been sitting on the bench for two hours. She turns to him and beams. It makes his stomach swoop. 

Fuck it. It’s official. He will admit he might ‘like-like’ Dr Tessa Virtue.

‘I think we’ll have to concede that our dogs are equally adorable,’ Tess states.

‘That’s a significant concession,’ he cocks an eyebrow at her, ‘Can I think about it?’

‘Definitely. I’m a big fan of not rushing things,’ Tess replies. He senses she’s not only talking about the dogs.

He summons his courage and is about to open his mouth when she gets in before him and speaks again.

‘Do you want to know about the rumours?’ she tilts her head and looks shy.

‘Do you want to tell me about the rumours?’

‘I do,’ she nods.

‘OK, tell me about the rumours’.

‘I had a colleague at Hunter General Hospital who dated a close friend of mine. He did something not very nice to my friend and I confronted him about it. In the course of the conversation he made some very untrue allegations about my friend. I got angry and I raised my voice. He was taken aback and stepped away, he tripped over a chair and he fell. He was embarrassed and claimed that he fell because I shoved him. He filed a complaint. There was an investigation and the security cameras supported my version of events. I did not touch him. He wasn’t fired but he was told it was best he find another job due to his false allegation against me. I got a very stern talking to for raising my voice in the workplace’.

She looks at him with huge eyes. He does not doubt what she is saying for one second.

‘But the damage was done. The rumours had already started and now I’m that doctor who lost her shit. Which I kinda am, I did lose my temper. I did raise my voice. I shouldn’t have. He was hurtful towards someone I care about very deeply’.

He doesn’t really know what to say. 

Tess picks up the stick and throws it out to Hallie and Milly. He feels outraged for her. What a prick that guy must be.

‘I’m glad you told me,’ he takes her hand, ‘I’m sorry that happened to you. Your colleague was an asshole’.

Tess looks down at their hands.

‘It was a hard lesson to learn. I should have kept my cool. And he shouldn’t have falsely accused me to save face. I think about it a lot. Wishing I could have handled it differently’.

He feels emboldened, so he takes her hand and brings it to his lips.

They look at each other and now he knows exactly what to say.

‘You are the most captivating woman I have ever met’.

He stares into her eyes, he can’t see her mouth but he knows she’s smiling by the way her eyes crinkle. He cannot get enough of those crinkles.

‘Yeah?’ she asked delicately.

‘Yeah,’ he confirms.

She stretches over and places her hand behind his head, gently drawing his mouth to hers. When their lips meet he feels the quiver of new beginnings. The kiss is soft and chaste and flawless. A feeling of contentment spreads from his chest, tingling around his torso and settling in his stomach.

After the kiss he sits back and smiles at her, kissing her hand once more. He wants to kiss her mouth again too. But he also feels a sense of peace just sitting here with Tess in the morning sunshine with their dogs roaming about. He wants to take his time. Moreover, he wants them to take their time.

‘You have a habit of surprising me, Dr Virtue,’ he hums.

‘Dr Moir, I hope that’s a good thing?’ she smiles back.

He studies her face before softly running his thumb across her lips.

'It's a very good thing’.


	12. Renee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Moir has the perfect day with Dr Virtue.
> 
> Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for @Rookandpawn1.
> 
> She already knows. I just want you all to know too.

Sometimes in life, things don’t live up to the hype - movies or books or actual real life experiences. Today has not been one of those times. Today has been the complete opposite, a gradual unfurling of magnificence, a never ending bloom of perfection. 

He and Tess stayed nestled together on the park bench until both they and the dogs were starving. Engulfed in endless conversation but this time holding hands, Tess lightly brushing her thumb over his, each tender sweep a confirmation that sitting in the sun with Dr Tessa Virtue was actually happening. 

He’s not even sure how it started, but at the park they fell into a pattern of one of them stating ‘Question?’ to the other. The questioner was required to demand the response to a random enquiry. The answerer had to offer up an honest reply. They unpacked a million morsels of truth from each other, running the gamut of ‘How’d you lose your virginity?’ to ‘Which is your favourite time of day?’

He’d learned that Tess hates birds, once stole a pornographic magazine and after drinking too much wine (and despite all the warnings) put dish soap in her dishwasher and woke in the morning to find she’d flooded her kitchen with bubbles. 

He confessed to her that his first kiss was with Martha Johnson (in a darkened movie theatre watching one of the terrible Star Wars films), he scratched his brother’s car then covered it up with crayon and he once had a small crush on Mack’s Emma.

He also found that everything he thought about her is true. She has a sharp wit and is hysterically funny. She is conscientious and kind. And she is an awesome dog owner - her Hallie is affectionate and well behaved. It’s one of the things he likes best about her. He’s trying to ignore why that might be. 

She invited him back to her place for lunch, their dogs feasting on a home made meal then wrestling in her yard while he and Tess ate rare roast beef sandwiches and talked about the pros and cons of crate training puppies and their favourite episodes of Mayday. 

Afterwards Tess suggested they play Cribbage while laying on her lounge room floor. The dogs wandered around them before finally jumping onto Tess’ lounge together, laying in a muddled heap then promptly falling asleep. 

And here they are now. 

Mid afternoon and the simplicity of it all overwhelms him. The day has been fucking magic. 

Before he even realises it he’s reaching across the Cribbage board to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her skin is exquisitely smooth and his fingers itch to grab her chin and pull her face to his. He’s aching to kiss her again. They haven’t kissed since their restrained park bench kiss of earlier in the day.

‘Question?’ Tess gives him a wink.

‘What would you like me to do next?’ he asks slowly.

‘I’m worried that if I tell you I’ll scare you off,’ she says in such a confident voice he has to repeat the sentence silently in his head to make sure he heard correctly.

‘Today’s been great but I’m not moving in with you yet Tess, that’s just weird,’ he says matter-of-factly.

She honks out a laugh so hard that Hallie awakes and gives a sharp bark.

‘Hallie, hush!’ instructs Tess while she continues to laugh. It makes him laugh too.

‘Tell me, what would you like me to do next?’ he smiles. 

‘Take off all my clothes,’ she says looking dead into his eyes before raising her eyebrows. ‘But I don’t ever sleep with anyone on the first date. You’re a bit different Dr Moir, I want to, desperately, so I’m going to need you to be the self disciplined one’.

This makes him chuckle. 

‘OK, so strip Cribbage is a hard no right now?’ he grins.

‘Only for today,’ she teases. ‘Tomorrow is a whole other ball game’.

‘What about if we lay here on the floor and kiss while I feel you up through your clothes?’ he tries not to smirk.

‘A thousand time yes!’ she laughs. 

Then, the bastard universe swipes the rug out from under him, his phone starts beeping. He pulls it from his pocket, not even thinking to ignore it. 

He rolls over on his back and reads in silence before rolling back onto his stomach. He glances up to see Tess looking at him expectantly. 

‘Fuck. It’s Mack. He’s working today. Hamish Roberts isn’t doing well. They still can’t find the right antibiotics to get in top of this infection. Jim Maxwell wants to remove his leg’.

Tess furrows her brow as she mouths a soundless ‘Oh’.

‘Renee is going to be devastated. Fuck’, he sighs. 

‘She will be. She’s a great mom. I really liked her. Are you going in?’ Tess asks.

‘They can’t wait for me. They’ve got Peggy Lim as lead surgeon. They don’t need me right now. But I’ll head in tomorrow for the post op care’.

‘Do you want to take a raincheck on getting to second base?’ Tess suggests with a soft smile. 

He leans forward to cradle her face in his hands, placing a kiss on her mouth, it’s simple and chaste, just like their earlier kiss in the park.

‘I do. Is that OK?’ he breathes

‘It’d be weird if you didn’t’, Tess takes his right hand and kisses his open palm. 

‘Tess,’ he says slowly, not really sure if he’s game enough to say what’s on his mind. Fuck it. He is. He wants to be honest with her. 

‘Hmmm’ she responds.

‘This day, except for the last three minutes, has undoubtedly been the best day of my last 12 months. Thank you’.

Her face explodes into her genuine smile, her green eyes crinkling, before sparkling with mischief.

‘Mine too,’ she whispers. ‘And tomorrow will be even better,’ she promises.


	13. Frank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A deep blue, backless dress. 
> 
> Frank Sinatra.
> 
> A dance floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m a bit bias when it comes to Frank Sinatra. He’s my fave. If you haven’t listened to ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ you should!

‘Tomorrow will be even better,’ Tess promises.

Tomorrow is not better. 

He’s living tomorrow right now and it’s a clusterfuck of heartbreak and helplessness and tears and an eight year old facing a lifetime without his leg. 

And he currently hates his job. Hates having to console a distressed mother. Hates having to tell a disoriented and frightened young boy what’s no longer safely tucked under his bed sheets.

Tomorrow is shitful. Tomorrow is spent explaining rehabilitation and pain management and wound dressing regimes.

Truly, tomorrow can just go fuck itself.

*

He doesn’t see Tess again until Saturday night. He’s had four full days of surgeries. He and Tess have exchanged a plethora of text messages over the week - a welcome and distracting running commentary on their days. Tess has been away at a Women in Medicine conference, with his mom no less, as evidenced by the selfies she’s sent him. Photos of her sweet face definitely the high point in a very crappy week. 

He spent Thursday night by Hamish’s bedside while Renee took a night to herself. He’d followed Tess’ lead and bought Hamish some LEGO. He’d encouraged Hamish out of bed into an armchair for the first time and they’d sat together for three hours, putting together a LEGO Technics Cherry Picker. Keeping Hamish distracted and chatting had given him the chance to get a better understanding Hamish’s pain level and mobility range. 

And now, here he was on Saturday night, dressed in a tuxedo, hair freshly cut and shoes shined so bright he can almost see his reflection. It is the hospital’s annual fundraising ball. Serendipitously, Tess has the night off too. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t giddy with the thought of sharing a meal with her, giddy with the thought of seeing her dressed to the nines, giddy with the thought of a potential private after-party. His cock is giddy at that last thought too.

Tess is already there when he arrives at the fundraiser. She’s got her back to him, laughing with Emily Ogin, Mack and Emma. He can only see the rear of her dress, it’s deep blue, floor length and backless. It’s incredible. And that’s just the back. Fuck. He wills his dick into submission. He catches Mack’s eye as he approaches the group.

‘Scott, beloved buddy, glad to see you’ve made it’, Mack croons.

‘Jesus Mack, you’re a good looking bastard. The salt and pepper beard is still working for me’, he responds while he playfully runs his hand over Mack’s cheek. 

He slides in next to Tess and brushes his knuckles against the back of her hand. She turns to face him and the sight is spectacular. She is absolutely fucking stunning. Her hair swept up, her green eyes elegantly accented and her lips a pretty rose colour. 

His heart literally skips a beat, a palpitation echoing in his chest. 

‘Dr Moir,’ smiles Tess, ‘you look very handsome’.

‘Tess, you’re a vision in blue,’ he breathes back. 

Jesus. He can’t stop looking at her. 

‘I want to kiss you,’ he leans towards Tess and whispers in her ear. 

She discreetly slips her hand into his and squeezes it twice. Then she turns to look at him and gives a gentle nod and a slow wink. She doesn’t remove her hand from his. 

He’s glad that Mack is around because her wink sets off another heart palpitation and he’s mildly concerned he’s having some kind of a cardiac event. 

The MC invites the guests to be seated for dinner and he guides Tess to her chair with his hand on her bare back. She shivers under his touch and his hand zings with electricity. 

Dinner passes in a blur. A blur of laughing and touching and whispering in each other’s ears as the band plays old school Frank Sinatra tracks. This is a great night. Maybe, the greatest? As Mack gets up to dance with Emma he gives him a ‘What the fuck is going on?’ look coupled with a ‘You old dog, go get her!’ look. He subtly nods an acknowledgment.

He doesn’t need any encouragement. He wants Tess so desperately. And not just physically. She’s the best company. There’s a connection between them that has him yearning for her. 

‘Is it the dance floor that your longingly staring at, or Emma?’ Tess breaks his reverie.

‘Emma. You know that I’m just marking time with you until Emma realises she’s in love with me, right?’ he deadpans.

‘I’m totally cool with that,’ Tess deadpans back, ‘Wanna dance?’

He nods and gets up, taking her hand as they weave between the tables to the dance floor. On the way he smiles and says hello to numerous colleagues and patients’ parents. The dance floor is packed but they manage to find a spot. 

As soon they’re settled into their piece of dance floor he draws Tess into his arms. Tess turns and snuggles into his chest as the band starts up ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’. He’s got one hand low on her back and the other holding her hand, clutched to his chest. It’s perfection. 

She rests her head on his chest and he can’t help but kiss her forehead. In response to his kiss she lifts her head and her green eyes stare up at him, crinkled at the edges. He must have a puzzled look on his face because she suddenly looks confused.

‘Question?’ she asks.

‘After this song, would you like to leave with me?’ he says softly so that no one else can hear.

‘Yes, please,’ she responds. 

‘Good,’ he smiles then kisses her cheek, ‘I have so many things I want to do to you’.


	14. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sound the alarm!
> 
> We’ve finally made it. Thank fuck.
> 
> They’re doing the deed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are. At last. The sex bit.
> 
> As told by Tessa.

‘After this song, would you like to leave with me?’ Scott whispers into her ear. His breath is warm and he squeezes her hand as he speaks. 

They’re dancing to an old Frank Sinatra number. The dance floor is full and the band is fabulous. It feels magical, like she’s floating. She’s struck by how happy she feels in this moment. She hasn’t felt like this in a long time. 

This man she likes, the one clutching her hand to his chest while delicately resting his other hand on her lower back? He is divine. And he looks incredible in a tux. 

‘Yes, please,’ is all she can manage. 

She wants nothing more than to leave with Scott. Ideally, she’d love to jump up and wrap her legs around his waist while kissing him senseless on this dance floor. But that’d be a career limiting move. Plus her dress is too tight to allow her to move her legs like that. Hitching up her dress is a definite no go, particularly given she’s not wearing any underwear.

‘Good,’ he smiles then kisses her cheek, ‘I have so many things I want to do to you’.

This makes her quiver with excitement and she places a discreet kiss to Scott’s neck. Bring it on - that’s all her brain is thinking. 

‘How much have you had to drink?’ he speaks into her ear as the hand on her back gently strokes her skin in time with the music. She lifts her head to look him in the eyes. 

‘I’m happily, warmly tipsy. Certainly not drunk. I know exactly what I want tonight. I love that you’re checking in with me. Are you drunk?’

‘Definitely not,’ he chuckles, ‘I just want to make sure that tonight is what you want it to be’.

Maybe it’s the tipsy talking or maybe it’s his earnestness or maybe it’s the incredible way he makes her feel, she’s not sure, but it pushes her to deliver the following sentence.

‘I would very much like to leave with you and for you to do everything you want to me, because I have things I want to do to you too’.

Scott gives a silent groan and squeezes her to his body. It sends of flash of want down her spine where it settles between her thighs. That want makes her cunt feel thick and full. And it drives a deep desire to have him fill up her body with a very specific part of his body. 

‘Let’s not wait until the end of the song,’ she sighs, taking Scott’s hand and leading him back to their table to collect her bag.

*

They sink into the back of an Uber and Scott gives his address to the driver. 

‘Would you mind if we have a quick stop at my place on the way home?’ she bites her lip and raises her eyebrows in a gesture of gratitude.

‘Yeah, of course. Hallie?’ he asks.

‘Uhuh, I just want to quickly let her out. I don’t want to have to rush home later’. She gives a little smile. She hopes it’s a confident smile, one that betrays her nervousness, even though it’s ‘good’ nervousness. As in I-can’t-wait-to-fuck-this-amazing-guy nervousness.

Scott doesn’t say anything at first, he just nods, then takes her chin in his fingers and tilts up her head before giving her a feather-light kiss on her lips.

‘Good plan,’ he whispers in her ear, ‘I’m a big fan of you not rushing home tonight’.

My God, this whispering in her ear, the thing that Scott keeps doing, is hot as fuck. It’s so intimate and arousing but at the same time gentle and respectful.

‘Question?’ she asks as he wraps his arm around her shoulders.

‘Are you seeing anyone?’ Scott says in a formal tone of voice. It’s so unexpected she bursts out laughing.

‘I think you know the answer to that one,’ she responds, slowly running her hand up his inner thigh. He doesn’t even flinch, just watches her hand creeping towards its destination.

‘I know, I’m just doing some due diligence, you see, my previous girlfriend had some monogamy issues. So I’m screening any potential romantic partners for conflicts of interest,’ Scott replies.

This makes her laugh again. Hard. She may have even snorted. She’s just gonna ignore that. Fuck, his ability to make her laugh is spectacular. 

Her hand gets all the way to the top of his thigh and she stops just short of his cock.

‘Definitely not seeing anyone’ she shakes her head. 

He exhales loudly and places his hand over hers, drawing her hand up his thigh until he’s pushing her palm over his cock. It’s hard and that makes her mouth dry. 

‘Question?’ Scott challenges.

‘Do you ever use the term ‘make love’?’ she quizzes.

‘I find that term abhorrent. Never. You?’

‘I hate it. If I wasn’t already going to sleep with you this answer would have definitely gotten you all the way to home base’, she says dramatically. ‘You’ve completely sealed the deal Dr Moir’.

Now it’s his turn to laugh. It’s loud and genuine and she feels a little chuffed to have elicited such a response. 

*

They pull up to her place and Scott tells the driver to wait.

‘We won’t be long buddy, we just gotta sort out the dog. We’ll be back in five’.

‘No rush, man’, responds the driver with a smirk.

She thinks she sees the driver wink at Scott. She’s about to tell him they really are here to let out her dog but she’s interrupted by Scott calling her name. He’s already standing by her front door.

‘Thanks again for doing this,’ she smiles as she unlocks the door. Scott holds it open while she walks through first, closing the door behind them. She switches on the hall light and Hallie bounds up to greet them both before darting through the kitchen to the back door wanting to be let out. 

She strides through her darkened kitchen, unlocks the back door and Hallie scampers out into the night. She leaves the door ajar so Hallie can let herself back in.

‘Hopefully this’ll only take three minutes’, she shrugs.

Scott doesn’t say anything, just leans against her kitchen counter before taking off his suit jacket. The kitchen light is off but the distant hall light is bathing the kitchen in a soft yellow glow.

Sweet Jesus. 

He’s wearing suspenders. A tuxedo, with suspenders.

She is not embarrassed to admit that she audibly gasps. 

‘Suspenders’, she says moving towards him, ‘Fuck. A handsome man in suspenders. It’s my kryptonite,’ she faux whispers. 

His smile lights up his face, she can see him clearly, even though it’s half dark. Scott grabs her hand and pulls her flush to his body. 

‘After waiting all week, I’m going to properly kiss you now,’ he announces. 

Before she can respond his hand is on the nape of her neck and he’s guiding her mouth to his own. She grabs his suspenders and pulls him as close to her as possible. Which isn’t really any closer, given they were already touching from thigh to chest.

This time it’s not chaste kissing. It’s not soft, it’s not delicate and it’s not gentle.

It’s hungry and torrid. He licks into her mouth and she melts from the intensity. The kissing is fierce and lustful and every other adjective that conveys a sense of steamy, sizzling, red hot pre-fucking making out. 

Scott runs his hands down her back and grabs her ass, pulling her pelvis tightly to his so she can feel his cock hard against her belly. 

‘Jesus Christ, I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing under this dress,’ he pants into her mouth when they come up for air, their foreheads resting together.

‘I’m not wearing anything under this dress,’ she answers truthfully.

‘Fuck. Tess,’ Scott groans in a way that makes her squeeze her legs together. She can feel how obscenely wet she is and all they’ve done is six minutes of (admittedly incredible) kissing.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone more than I want you right in this moment. This whole week has been a slow burn of texting and thinking about you. Of thinking about just kissing you, I didn’t dare think about what would come after. Now, I just wanna fuck you right here in your kitchen,’ Scott all but growls at her.

She almost self-ammolates standing in front of her refrigerator (the irony!), his words setting her alight. She executes the first plan to come into her head, she wiggles her dress up over her hips then takes Scott’s hand and slowly places it between her legs. She takes his fingers, swirling them around her clit before dragging then through her folds and sinking them into her cunt. 

They don’t break eye contact the entire time. When he feels how wet she is his eyes go wide and his mouth falls open. His other hand immediately moves to play with the tip of his hardened cock through the fabric of his suit pants. 

‘Told you a handsome man in suspenders was my kryptonite,’ she quips. She removes his fingers from her pussy and undoes his belt. He starts laughing. It’s a soft, incredulous laugh, like he can’t believe this is actually happening.

He gives her a smile that looks like he just won the lottery, it makes her stomach swoop and her chest fizz. 

Then she uses his own trick on him, she leans into his ear and whispers.

‘Will you please fuck me right here in my kitchen? Just like this?’ She doesn’t wait for his reply, simply turns around, leans on the counter while she spreads her legs a little and wiggles her ass.

‘Oh shit. Yes, I’ll definitely fuck you like that,’ Scott keens, ‘But not tonight, not like that. I wanna see your face while we do this for the first time. Up, up, sit on the edge of the counter’.

She does as he instructs while he reaches into his suit jacket and grabs a condom. Once his cock is sheathed he moves between her legs and places his forearms under her thighs, dragging her slightly forward so she can feel the tip of his cock resting at her entrance. 

‘If actually fucking each other is half as good as the anticipation of fucking each other this is going to be mind blowing,’ Scott sighs before he leans in to kiss her neck. Her head drops back as he moves to sucking and kissing her collarbone. 

She can feel his cock, it’s still resting against her cunt. Waiting. Simply waiting.

‘Please,’ she whimpers. She’s never whimpered. This is new. 

‘Please?’ he asks.

‘Please, inside me,’ she whimpers. Again. 

‘Like this?’ Scott asks as he inches his cock inside her.

‘Oh, yes’, she hisses against his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck and starting a kiss that is slow, languid and sexy as hell.

‘Tess’, Scott sighs once he’s balls deep inside her. She wraps her legs around his waist as he moves his hands to her head, fisting his hands into her hair before going back to kiss her mouth.

She’s completely overwhelmed by the feeling of her cunt - full and wet and engulfing Scott’s perfect cock as it rocks into her. She’s so overwhelmed that she doesn’t hear Hallie sneak back inside, not until Hallie sits at Scott’s feet, drops something on the floor and gives a solitary bark. At the sound she snaps to attention and looks down to the floor. That’s when she sees it. The disgusting mess Hallie just deposited in her kitchen. 

‘Shit, Hallie!’ she shrieks. 

Scott, who had been making delicious wanting, grunting noises into her ear, freezes then moves backwards, his cock sliding out of her, springing free into the space between them.

‘What the fuck is that?’ he says calmly, in such a level-headed manner it’s almost comical. ‘Is that, is that a...’ he squints in the half dark.

‘Yes,’ she sighs with exasperated resignation, ‘that is a disembowelled rat’.


	15. The Bearded Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rat guts and a mystery photo.
> 
> Neither can be considered good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter I went a bit crazy with the word length. 
> 
> Abandoned my self-discipline. I mean, they were fucking, right. So can you really blame me?
> 
> This chapter I'm back on the wagon. Just 900 words for your reading pleasure.

‘Shit, Hallie’ he hears Tess shriek.

Without even thinking he unhitches his arms from Tess’ waist and moves backwards, his cock sliding out of her and bouncing between them as he gazes down to the floor.

And there is Hallie. 

She’s proudly sitting at his feet, her tail sweeping a rhythmic arc across Tess’ kitchen floor. The dog’s mouth is smeared with a thick dark substance and is worryingly close to his tuxedo pants, which are currently pooled around his shoes along with the suspenders that Tess slid off his shoulders after she undid his belt and snaked her deific right hand into his boxers.

‘What the fuck is that?’ he says calmly. He’s not feeling particularly calm but he’s a strong advocate for faking it until you’re making it.

‘Is that, is that a…’ he think it looks like some kind of rodent but it’s too dark to be sure.

‘Yes,’ Tess sighs, ‘that is a disembowelled rat’.

‘Holy fuck,’ he laughs, ‘Hallie, you horrid little cockblocker. That is not a nice present’.

This gets a giggle from Tess as she plonks her head on his shoulder in exasperated resignation.

‘What a nightmare, I don’t know what’s worse, having to stop mid-fuck or the fact there’s a mutilated rodent at our feet’, Tess moans as she surveys the scene on the floor. She looks to his cock standing to attention between them and lifts her head to give him an adorable pout. 

He runs his hands down his face and exhales, ‘Neither are awesome but the rat is definitely worse. I can’t tell you all the repulsive shit that Milly has happily delivered to my feet over the past two years’.

‘OK, let’s work out a plan of attack. Do we need to worry about you getting epididymal hypertension? Do you want to head to the bathroom to… ‘ her voice trails off as he chortles.

‘You’re such a doctor right now,’ he says cupping her face and kissing her cheek, ‘and a sweetheart. But I’m fine. I am not going to get blue balls. Plus I consider fucking to be a team event, so no orgasm for Tess means no orgasm for Scott. Primarily I’m worried about getting rats guts on my tux and good shoes’.

Geez, how is this woman real? Still likeable amongst the unexpected carnage. Considerateness is the primary driver for everything she does. He fleetingly thinks about the fact he never once thought of Kaitlin as considerate. Kind yes, but consistently thinking about, then acting upon the needs of others? No.

Tess smiles at him in the half dark as she leans forwards to tenderly kiss his mouth before scanning around the kitchen looking for something.

‘Righto, I’ll keep Hallie where she is if you want to get your pants back on and turn on the kitchen light. Just throw the condom in the rubbish bin under the sink’.

He carefully shuffles to the right and successfully avoids soiling his clothes. He turns his back to Tess as he removes the condom, stripping it off his wilting dick is sad, sad act of disappointment. By this stage he’s only half hard so zipping up his pants is uncomfortable but doable. He chucks the condom in the trash and washes his hands at the kitchen sink before turning on the light. Both he and Tess smart as the room is cast into brightness.

‘Motherfucker,’ states Tess as the mess on the floor is displayed in all its gory detail.

‘So, what about I clean up Hallie’s mouth and you do rat disposal? That’s probably the least disgusting task. There are some thick gloves under the sink and I think you just try scoping up the rat as best you can and place both the carcass and the gloves in the rubbish bin outside. Sound OK?’

‘I can definitely do that. But first, what about you? You’re not gonna clean up Hallie in that beautiful dress are you?’

Tess looks down at the gown hitched up around her waist and the look on her face tells him that she completely forgot she was half naked on her kitchen counter.

‘Oh, definitely not. Would you mind dashing to my room and grabbing me the underwear, leggings and t-shirt on my bed? I'll make sure Hallie stays put’.

He nods and heads down the hall. Her bedroom is the first open door on the left and he loves this opportunity to get another little glimpse into her life, he had walked past her room a few times when he spent the afternoon with her last weekend but not been in. Her bedroom is tidy and serene. Very Dr Virtue. He notices there is a sole photo on her bedside table. It’s a recent photo of Tess with her arms wrapped around a bearded man. Hallie is sprawled out in front of them. He knows it’s not one of Tess’ brothers because there are photos of them in her lounge room. This guy is about her age and he’s kissing her cheek with his eyes closed. They’re laughing. Her eyes are crinkled in that way they do when she’s genuinely happy. It's very clear that they know each other well. Really well. Frighteningly well.

He stares at the photos for a second. 

Who the fuck is he?


	16. Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That guy in the photo is Sam.
> 
> Sam, he is Tessa’s...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so this is an AU and nothing to do with real life. 
> 
> There's a part where people may think I am making a comment on current VM real-life stuff. 
> 
> I am not. I am most certainly not. It's a plot device to get us to a later part of the story. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Who the fuck is that guy?

He seizes Tess’ clothes and takes a final glance at the photo before he exits her room and makes his way back to the kitchen. Pull yourself together Moir, for fuck's sake, he chastises himself. You were just balls deep inside of her, don’t overdramatise this situation. It’s a photograph.

As he rounds the corner and arrives in Tess’ kitchen the fire of thoughts about The Bearded Man are snuffed out. Tess is standing in front of him. 

Completely naked.

Her blue dress is neatly laid out on her kitchen counter. She is naked. 

Did he mention Tess is naked?

Naked, Naked. Naked. 

His brain is short-circuiting. She is NAKED as the day she was born, standing in her brightly lit kitchen. He didn’t get to see her breasts while they were fucking, as she was still wearing her dress. He looks from her face to her chest and back to her face again. Oh my god, she’s magnificent. He can’t help the groan that escapes his mouth.

‘This,’ she says, signalling to her undressed body, ‘is what I’d like to be wearing when we get back to you place. If that is still OK with you?’ she shrugs with the most angelic, hopeful look on her beautiful face. 

‘Yep’. He nods.

That’s all he can manage in response to her question.

‘Yep. Just ‘Yep’?’ Tess echoes with a grin.

‘Lost power of speech. All blood draining to groin. Please put on clothes. Uber waiting. Let’s go’, he stammers, shoving her clothes to her body.

‘Oh fuck, I forgot about that,’ her voice suddenly muffled by her t-shirt as she hurriedly gets dressed.

They work together to clean up the rat carnage. She scrubs Hallie’s face and he is able to remove the rat with minimal guts spillage before quickly disinfecting the floor. 

Tess decides to quarantine Hallie to her kitchen until she has time to give her a proper bath tomorrow. Hallie has a dog bed in the corner of the kitchen, so while Tess suffers a moment of dog-guilt in not allowing her to sleep in her room she knows that Hallie will still be comfortable and warm.

‘OK, let’s do the walk of shame to the Uber,’ he instructs, grabbing her hand.

When they get to the Uber the driver is asleep, his head against the fogged up window and his phone resting between his slackened hand and the steering wheel. He wakes as they open the back door.

‘Do what you needed to do?’ he asks them with an smarmy eyebrow raise.

‘Tess here got changed, and we cleaned up a dead rat that the dog brought into the house,’ he explains not wanting to give the driver the satisfaction of knowing what really happened.

‘And we fucked on my kitchen counter,’ Tess adds.

The driver’s eyes go wide before flashing to his, silently asking if she’s telling the truth. He keeps a poker face.

‘I’m joking. Obviously,’ Tess smiles beatifically.

*

When they get back to his place it’s his turn to let out a dog. He goes out with Milly, not giving her any chance to chase and capture a creature of the night.

When returns to inside the house Tess isn’t where he left her.

He hears his showering running and he follows the noise, stripping off his clothes as he walks down the hall. When he gets to the bathroom he finds the door open, Tess obviously giving him an invitation to join her.

Kaitlin was not a fan of joint showers. In fact, in their three years together they never showered together, not even once.

‘Are you going to come in? You’re making me feel a bit nervous just having you hover in the door way’, Tess pops her head out and smiles. She extends her hand to him.

‘Question?’ he smirks as he steps into the shower and wraps his arms around her waist. Tess kisses his neck. He really likes it when she does that.

‘Is shared showers something that reminders you of Kaitlin? Is that why you hesitated to come in?’ Tess says softy.

He marvels at her pluck in this moment. He wants the foundation of their relationship to be rock-solid and mature, so he tells her the truth.

‘I love that you asked me that question. Love that you felt brave enough to ask it and that you’re interested in the answer,’ he carefully pushes a wet tendril of hair off her cheek.

‘Are you going to answer it?’ She bites her lip.

‘Showers do not remind me of Kait. Showers do not remind me of Kait because in our 37 months of dating we never had a shower together. Not once’.

Tess gasps. ‘Really?’ she sighs and then shakes her head quickly. ‘Sorry, that sounded so judgey. I didn’t mean it to be, I’m just surprised’.

‘I never really thought about it, not until I was standing in the doorway just now. Then I thought about it. About how much I wanted to get in this shower with you’.

The hot water is streaming down from both the rain-head on the ceiling and the shower head on the wall. Standing in his shower is warm and relaxing but the way Tess has her arms draped around his neck is the very best bit of right here and now.

She smiles her crinkly eye smile. ‘Well, I’m glad you never had a shower with Kait, it can be our thing’. Tess reaches both her hands to his face and chastely kisses his mouth. ‘I don’t know if you noticed, but I really like you Dr Moir’.

‘Oh, so tandem showering is not something you’re engaging in regularly?’ he jokes.

‘Actually, I’ve only had shower sex with one person’, Tess rests her head on his shoulder. He straightens with surprise. Tess looks up at him and nods. He can sense she wants to tell him something. His mind immediately goes back to The Bearded Man. Fuck. 

‘Was it the guy in the photo on your bedside table?’ he says tentatively.

‘Yes,’ she rushes. ‘That’s Sam. Samuel Chouinard. I wanted to tell you about him. Not necessarily tonight or in the shower but since he’s come up…’ Tess voice gets quiet. 

Immediately, all fear about Sam Chouinard’s current role in Tess’ life is relegated to the ‘not a threat’ pile. There is nothing in the way that she is talking or stroking his waist that makes him think she’s going to drop a bombshell, like he’s her fly-in-fly-out fiancé or estranged husband but he’s still a little nervous. Fuck, he hopes nothing terrible happened to him, that he’s not dead.

‘Tell me about him’, he kisses her forehead in encouragement.

‘Sam is my best friend. He has been for a very long time. We met in our first year of university. He is originally from Montreal. Initially, I was young and suckered in by his accent and sense of humour. Then I was captured by his generosity and thoughtfulness. Almost all my university memories are tied up with Sam. In a good way. A great way, in fact’.

OK, so Sam is still alive. Good news. He kisses her cheek this time, another encouragement to keep talking. She places a kiss on his lips in return.

‘We dated in our first and second years of university, we're inseparable. But then we made some mistakes. We thought we fell in love’.

‘Oh’, he says furrowing his brow and looking at her green eyes. They’re clear and smiley.

‘We did love each other. We do love each other. But we were not in love with each other. We ARE not in love with each other’, Tess is so calm and relaxed telling this story but he knows something is coming. He’s just not sure what.

‘We were both young and naïve. And following a path we thought we should, rather than one we really, truly wanted’ Tess pauses. ‘Which is why Sam and I getting married was a mistake’.

And there is it. 

Fuck. 

Plot twist.

‘So, Sam was your husband?’ he repeats. He hopes his tone of voice doesn’t reflect his astonishment. 

‘No, no, Sam was not my husband’ Tess clarifies.

‘Wait, sorry, I’m not following. I thought you said you guys got married’ he shakes his head.

‘That’s the tricky part. We did get married. And we lived together as a married couple for a year. But then we worked out that it wasn’t meant to be. For a million different reasons, not the least that I don’t really have the body parts that Sam is most interested in,’ Tess cocks her eyebrows.

Fuck.

Plot twist number two.

‘Oh, got it’.

‘But the thing is, time marched on, Sam and I lived our lives, eight years of not living like we were married. Except, technically Sam IS my husband. We are still married for no reason other than we were lazy and never did the paperwork, still married for the next three weeks at least. Sam is getting married next year to his boyfriend, so he and I are finally getting divorced’.

Fuck.

Plot twist number three.

Tess takes a huge breath.

‘That’s it, the Sam story. You OK?’ Tess probes.

‘So what you’re saying is that, this evening, I’ve engaged in both fornication and adultery,’ he laughs.

‘Yes, that is undeniable,’ Tess confirms.

‘Well, I’m glad you told me. Tess, I’m not bothered that you’re technically still married to your best friend who you last slept with eight years ago’, he kisses her on the nose this time.

‘So,’ he gives Tess his cheeky eyebrow waggle, ‘let’s engage in fornication and adultery again’. He covers her mouth with his own and pulls her body flush to his.

‘My pleasure’, she sighs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that OK?


	17. George

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunday morning in bed.
> 
> Is there anything better?
> 
> Here's 477 words to try and convince you there is not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My shortest chapter yet. Enjoy!

Their adorable little patients most commonly describe Dr Virtue as ‘nice’, then ‘kind’, followed by ‘funny’.

Right now, Dr Virtue is being anything but nice. She is currently being absolutely sinful as she rides his cock for the second time in the last fourteen hours. 

And he means ride his cock. Again. That does not include the orgasmless semi-fuck on her kitchen counter, their blowjobs in the shower and when they did it with him on top, Tess’ legs up around his waist, him holding her hands against the bedhead. 

That’s four orgasms in fourteen hours. Which is, in fact, a personal best.

You could say it’s been a good fourteen hours.

You could even say it's been a fucking incredible fourteen hours.

Tess comes in a delicious symphony of moans and mewls. He follows after as she scratches his balls, the sensation tipping him over the edge in a way that has him gasping for breath. They’re yet to get their timing exactly right but the sex is moving in the right direction and he’s a strong advocate for practice making perfect. 

‘Question?’ she pants as she flops next to him. 

‘My penis very much likes your vagina. Is that reciprocated?’ he jokes.

‘Oh my God, you called me a doctor before. What about you? It’s hard no to using the very unsexy, anatomically correct terms. Dr Moir, never again please,’ Tess playfully pushes his arm.

He rolls over onto his side and props his head up on his hand. Tess moves to mirror his position. She looks at him with a wicked grin.

He can hear the radio playing in the background. It's an old Van Morrison song.

‘Question?’ she says again.

‘Tess,’ he says slowly, reaching down to sloppily suck her nipple before making a mock serious face.

‘My cock,’ he kisses her lips.

‘Very much enjoys,’ he kisses her lips again. 

‘Hanging out in your pussy’. He kisses her lips with a wet smack. 

“Can we pleeeeeeeease do a lot more of that?’ he asks in the same tone a whiny child requests an ice-cream.

She bursts out laughing. 

‘What the fuck am I going to do with you? You’re a lunatic,’ she chortles. 

He grabs her around the waist while he nuzzles her neck and rolls her on top of him. 

Fuck, this morning has been perfection. He does not want to get out of this bed. Not for all the money in the world. He cups her head, his fingers extending into the hair at the nape of her neck. 

He beams at her, he can’t help it. 

He feels glee, joy, bliss and contentment. All the good feels. If he reads her eyes correctly, she feels the exact same thing. 

‘Right now, I can tell you what you going to do with me. You’re going to get dressed so we can grab Hallie from your place and then walk our dogs,’ he says decisively.

Tess gives a little shimmy of delight.

‘I can’t think of anything I’d like do more’.


	18. Kellie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mack joins us for a small cameo.
> 
> And our doctors decide that breakfast is for losers.

‘What do you want to have for dinner tonight?’ he asks Tess as they lay in the Sunday afternoon sunshine.

‘Bold of you to assume that Hallie and I want to share our evening meal with you and Milly,’ Tess yawns as she sinks back into the grass after throwing the dogs a tennis ball macerated in drool.

He chuckles softly.

‘My Milly is a glass half full kinda dog, aren’t ya beautiful girl?’ he says engaging in a playful game of tug-of-war with the recently returned Milly. He grabs the ball from her mouth and throws it so far away that Milly cocks her head and gives him a ‘Seriously??!?’ look.

‘We’d love to but we can’t,’ Tess sighs. ‘I’ve got a whole lot of notes to go over for tomorrow. I’m working with Deb Lucas on her C-section list’.

‘Ah, got it’.

He understands completely and he loves that she’s so conscientious.

‘Plus it’s a 6:30am start and what I really need is an early night. I’m not sure that will happen if we have dinner together,’ Tess gives him the most adorable wink. His heart gives a little pang of regret at missing the opportunity to lounge around together on one of their couches and partake in some post dinner kissing. 

He jumps up and extends his hand to Tess.

‘Once more around the park before we head back to the car?’

Tess takes his hand and springs to her feet.

‘Sure thing,’ she reaches up on her tippy toes to plant a wet smack his lips.

‘Milly, Hallie,’ he calls, shaking their leads. ‘Let’s go girls’.

*

‘Dr Moir, I feel really nervous’ announces Kellie Hampton before she turns her head and vomits directly over his feet. Thank fuck for the disposable shoes covers he wears during surgery. They coped the majority of the mess but he already knows his shoes are going to be toast.

Eleven-year-old Kellie erupts into a pile of hot sobs. His heart goes out to her. Of course she feels nervous. She mumbles that she’s sorry.

‘Kell, can I tell you a secret?’ he mock whispers.

Kellie nods.

‘I don’t really like these shoes. Dr MacIntosh,’ he tilts his head towards Mack, ‘bought them for me and I never really liked them. You’ve actually done me a favour’.

Kellie looks at him and Mack suspiciously. Mack takes his cue.

‘Kellie, Dr Moir is a much better doctor than he is a dresser. He wouldn’t know cool shoes if he fell over them. You like the shoes, right?’

Kellie peers down at his feet. Through the blue plastic she can make out his shoes. She bites her lip, and flicks her eyes to her Mom, he can see the wheels turning in Kellie’s mind, no matter what she says here she’s either going to offend him or Mack.

‘Perhaps you should just put me to sleep and fix my arm?’ she suggests.

That gets her a big laugh from everyone assembled in the theatre. She joins in too. 

Losing the shoes was worth it.

*

He and Tess manage to have breakfast together on Thursday morning. They both have a late start to the day so he invites her over to join him for scrambled eggs and bacon.

Well, that was the plan. He’s euphoric that the first thing she does when she walks through his front door is strip off her shirt.

‘You didn’t really mean come over for breakfast did you?’ she says into his mouth, her hands creeping under the back of t-shirt.

It’s clear when they walk through his kitchen, still kissing, that he had meant exactly that.

‘You did mean breakfast!’ Tess gasps.

‘Fuck breakfast,’ he says scoping her up and encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist.

‘Breakfast is for losers,’ she hums as he carries her into his bedroom.

After fucking (him behind her, their timing is definitely getting better) Tess looks at him and runs her hand through his hair.

‘What’s up?’ he asks. He’s also getting better at knowing when she is hesitant about something she wants to ask him.

‘Can I see it?’ Tess asks.

‘Depends what ‘it’ is?’ he grins.

‘Ha! No, not that,’ she rolls her eyes. ‘The ring. The one you bought for Kaitlin’.

Huh, he didn’t see that coming. He also didn’t see coming the way he feels about this request. 

Absolutely indifferent. 

And it’s the best fucking feeling ever.

‘Definitely. It’s in that drawer just on your right.’

Tess reaches over and slowly opens the drawer, retrieving the small burgundy box from behind a couple of pairs of socks.

‘May I?’ she nods to the box, asking for permission to open the box.

‘Of course,’ he says.

Tess opens the box and takes a breath.

‘Well?’ he enquires, scooting close to her so he can look over her shoulder.

‘She’s a fucking moron for ever letting you go’.


	19. Joe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthdays.
> 
> They should be celebrated.
> 
> Who’s with me.

He and Kaitlin did not ‘do’ birthdays. Or their anniversary. Or Christmas. Definitely not Valentine’s Day. When he looks back now, he wonders how their relationship made it to the three year mark. But it did. He’ll be the first to admit that mostly their relationship was great. His shoulders still sink with a twinge of regret when he thinks of Kait. But not for long, not for nearly as long and the reason for that is sitting upon her kitchen counter eating ice cream from the carton.

‘Your Mom mentioned it’s your birthday tomorrow,’ Tess mumbles, a glob of ice-cream falling onto her shirt. 

‘Shit,’ she squeaks, as she brings her shirt to her mouth licking it off. All he can do is stare in surprise. He loves the juxtaposition between professional, competent at-work Dr Virtue and relaxed, dog loving, messy eating at-home Tess.

‘What? Can’t waste good ice-cream,’ she says, almost embarrassed.

‘I didn’t suggest you should,’ he laughs, adding his spoon to the carton and scraping out a huge scoop, greedily eating it before it slops down his own shirt. 

‘When did my Mom tell you this?’ he asks before going in for another scoop. 

He’s standing between Tess’ legs and he loves that they’ve fallen into such an easy physical intimacy. She swats his spoon away with her own. A mini spoon-sword fight ensues. Tess gives him a look that tells him the rest of the carton is for her mouth only. He does not agree, so he grabs her forearm and holds it above her head while sneakily stealing another scoop of chocolate ice-cream.

‘In our group chat on Twitter,’ Tess declares. 

‘You’re in a group chat with my Mom?’ he asks incredulously. 

What the fuck? Why? 

The ice-cream now finished, Tess takes his spoon and throws both the spoons and empty carton into her kitchen sink. 

‘Yep, it’s a Women in Medicine group thing. The Executive Committee was planning a catch up this week to discuss the next conference and she said she couldn’t make it because it was your birthday’.

Ah, that makes more sense. 

Tess looks at him expectantly. He’s not really sure why.

‘You weren’t going to tell me it’s your birthday?’ she takes his hands and cocks her head to the side. 

‘To be honest, it didn’t even cross my mind’.

He leans in and covers her mouth with his own. She tastes like Tess and chocolate. 

Delicious. 

He pulls back and smiles at her. Fuck, just eating ice cream with her makes him ridiculously happy. 

‘Is this a weird Kaitlin thing? Were you one of those dumb couples who didn’t celebrate stuff or buy presents?’

‘We were. Are you one of those dumb people who judges other couples that don’t celebrate stuff or buy presents?’ he teases.

She laughs and throws her arms around his neck, drawing him closer to her body by wrapping her legs around his torso. 

‘Listen,’ Tess says before softly kissing his neck.

‘I am listening,’ he affirms as he kisses her cheek in return.

‘I like you. A lot. I think you know this. And I also think birthdays are important. So, you should invite me to tomorrow night’s family dinner in honour of your birthday’.

He bursts out laughing. This woman - he loves her honesty, her spunk and big generous heart. 

‘It’s not a big, scary deal. I know you. I know your Mom. I’ve met your Dad at a Women in Medicine event. I’d love to meet your brothers. What do you say Dr Moir, may I please come too?’ she gives her smile that wrinkles her eyes. 

She’s fucking irresistible.

‘I say... that I’d love you to come’.


	20. Phil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most important revelations and conversations happen in the car. 
> 
> Am I right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phil Collins. 
> 
> Love him.

When he called his Mom to let her know he’ll be bringing Tess to his birthday dinner he did not expect Alma to respond with, ‘Well, that was much easier than I expected’. 

‘Ma, what are you up to?’ his head flicks upwards, his eyes scanning the traffic lights, waiting for the cross flow lights to turn red in anticipation of his green light.

‘Nothing,’ Alma says sweetly. ‘It’s just that I think you two have a lot in common and could be good friends’.

‘Tess and I are not really friends’. 

‘What? Why is she coming to your birthday?’ 

For a fiercely intelligent woman his mom is awfully good at missing social cues.

‘I mean we’re not just friends’ he clarifies.

‘Oh,’ his mom responds. ‘Ohhhhhhhhhh,’ she responds again. ‘When did this happen?’ 

‘Started about four weeks ago, we’ve spent a fair bit of time together since then,’ he offers. ‘I really like her, Ma. So tell Danny and Charlie not to be assholes at dinner’.

Fuck it, that’s not gonna cut it.

‘Actually, don’t bother, I’ll do it myself’. 

*

He texts his brothers: Am bringing girl to b’day dinner. Pls try not to be fuck-wits. I really like her.

He gets the following responses.

Charlie: So story of you getting your dick stuck in the garden hose is a no-go?

Danny: Thank God you finally ditched Kait. She was an A-class bitch. (Pls disregard if Kait has resurfaced and is girl coming to dinner)

*

He’s outside Tess’ house, sitting in his car. He’s come to collect her for his birthday dinner. He’s been here seven minutes, quietly listening to Phil Collins sing about a groovy kind of love.

He’s early. 

He’s never early. 

He feels like he’s about to sit an exam. Which is stupid. But that’s how he feels. Because this is important. Despite what Tess said yesterday, dinner is a big, scary deal. He has more than an inkling that Tess is going to be around for a long time. So he wants his family to like Tess. Moreover, he really wants Tess to like his family.

His navel gazing is interrupted by a soft tap on his window. 

It’s Tess.

He winds down his window, ‘Hey you,’ he smiles.

‘Hey right back,’ she leans down to kiss him hello. He feels instantly better. Calm. Centred. Happy. That’s always the overwhelmingly emotion he feels when she’s around. Happiness.

Tess walks around the front of the car and he gets the chance to take a proper look at her. She’s wearing blue jeans, a striped t-shirt and a leather jacket. It’s the perfect mix of casual and sexy as fuck. 

She slides into the car and his hand immediately goes to hers. It’s a subconscious need to touch her. His next move is to cup her face. Also subconscious. The third step is a kiss. He’s one hundred percent intentional and committed to this action. Kissing Tess - his stomach swoops every single time. He loves it.

‘Happy birthday,’ she sighs.

‘Thanks,’ he grins.

‘You gonna tell me why you’ve been parked outside my house for the last ten minutes?’ 

She runs her hand from his shoulder to his wrist. Her tone of voice is curious and placating.

Does he want to tell her? 

He ponders for a minute. He decides he will, they’ve been nothing but honest the entire time and he doesn’t want to stop that now.

‘I’m nervous. I want you to like my family. That’s important to me. That’s important to me because there’s something between us Tess, that I think has real potential. And I want them to like you too, which I am way less nervous about, because Mom already thinks you’re the bee’s knees’.

He looks at Tess and she’s slowly nodding. He can see she’s deciding what to say next. 

‘There is definitely something between us that has potential,’ Tess gives her crinkled eyed smile. ‘I am very confident that I’m going to like your family. And on the odd chance that I don’t, I will pretend I do’. 

He chortles at her statement, bringing his face to hers, delivering a quick brush of his lips against her own. 

Tess raises her hands to his head, swiping the back of her fingers against his cheek, then cradling his face in her palms. She returns his kiss, intimately and gently.

‘I hope they like me too,’ she whispers, her tone turning serious. ‘This relationship could have the most potential of any I’ve ever had’.

‘Yeah?’ he breathes. 

He rests his forehead against hers and clutches the back of her neck. The heart palpitations he is experiencing are so intense they’re off the chart. 

‘Yeah. I know it’s only been four weeks but there’s something almost indescribable happening here, right?’ Her voice is quiet but so steadfast and sure. 

He doesn’t respond with words, instead wraps Tess up tightly in his arms, leaning across the car’s centre console, squeezing her to him. He softly caresses her back and feels Tess sink into his embrace. He kisses her cheek. 

When he pulls back slightly he smiles at her and sees her eyes are full of unsteady tears.

Fuck yes, there’s something happening. 

But it’s not indescribable.

He knows what it is.

He is sure of what it is. 

He feels it unshackling him from his past.

He is falling in love with her.


	21. Gabi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pigeons and penises.
> 
> The drive to the Moirs is a ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we there yet?
> 
> Not yet, we’re almost at dinner.
> 
> Here’s a little appetiser.

‘OK, so I need to warn you about my brothers,’ he says turning left into his folks’ street.

He has driven down this street thousands of times. He knows every pothole, knows when to slow down in case the Anderson kids accidentally kick their ball onto the road again, knows to smile and salute to Mrs Sharp so she doesn’t whinge to his Mom that he failed to wave to her. Again.

But this time is different. 

This time he’s with Tess.

‘Sounds ominous,’ Tess slowly responds, softly placing her hand on his knee.

‘I love them both but I’m the baby brother, expect physical fighting, peak sarcasm and the revealing of many embarrassing secrets. Primarily, my embarrassing secrets’. 

‘You got secrets, Dr Moir?’ Tess laughs. 

‘I guarantee Charlie will lead with the fact that I once put my dick in the garden hose,’ he concedes. 

Tess’ eyes shoot to her hairline and he can tell she is trying to suppress a laugh.

‘In my defence, I was seven and my finger fit perfectly into the hose. I figured so would my penis. I was very wrong’.

‘Oh my God,’ Tess cackles with glee before covering her mouth with her hand, ‘I cannot wait to get inside and meet these brothers of yours’.

‘If things with Charlie and Danny get out of control your best option is to ask my Dad about Gabi and Gui. Dad is a pigeon fancier and they’re his two most successful birds. It’s a solid, safe conversation topic’. 

Tess erupts into giggles, her hand flying to her mouth again.

‘You don’t think I should go with the fact I’m married to a gay man?’ Tess suggests as they pull into his parents’ driveway.

‘That is a very good diversional topic. Only use it as your conversational emergency stop mechanism,’ he deadpans.


	22. Gui

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner is served.
> 
> On a bed of sappiness.

‘All of a sudden I’m slightly nervous,’ Tess confesses as they climb the steps to his parents’ front porch. 

He and his brothers have done a lot of stupid shit on this porch. Not least of all that time they decided to reenact a medieval hanging scene, his brothers tying a noose around his neck and instructing him to jump off the porch railing. Thank God their mom chose that exact moment to walk out the front door to call them in for lunch. The screech of Alma’s voice still rings in his ears, ‘SCOTT MOIR, FREEEEEZE!’

He loves his brothers. They’ve got a catalogue of revered memories - an archive of laughter, mischief and chaos. Between the three of them, they have made enough stupid decisions to last a lifetime.

He looks to Tess and there’s a momentary flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. He is besotted with her honesty, her desire to confide in him. It makes him feel they’re a solid team, a united front, a force to be reckoned with. He feels one step closer to admitting he’s in love with her.

‘Don’t be nervous, they will adore you,’ he smiles as he sweeps at a piece of dark brown hair that’s been caught up in her earring. 

‘Just promise me that you’ll give me the benefit of the doubt and we can talk through all of my stupid life decisions on the way home. I guarantee you are about to be exposed to a litany of regrettable Scott Moir incidents’. 

Tess chortles.

‘Over reacting much?’ she wraps her arms around his neck. ‘But yes, I promise I will give you the benefit of the doubt,’ Tess says firmly. ‘How about a kiss for luck?’

‘We don’t have sufficient time to kiss for long enough to generate the kinda luck we’re gonna need tonight,’ he sighs.

‘Well, how about a kiss because you really, really like me?’ Tess flirts. 

‘That I can definitely do,’ he smiles as his heart palpitations return with gusto and he leans in towards her.

Yep. He’s definitely one step closer.

*

‘I’m Charlie Moir, your potential brother-in-law,’ is the first thing his asshole brother says to Tess once they walk through the front door. 

He wishes Charlie led with the dick-in-the-hose story.

‘You’re a fucking dead man,’ he furiously mouths to Charlie over Tess’ head, all while shaking his head and giving Charlie the bird. 

He knew this was a bad idea. He still loves his brothers but hates everyone and everything right now.

Except Tess. 

She just takes the bullshit in her stride.

‘I’m sorry, Charlie is it? Scott hasn’t mentioned you before. I thought he only had one brother,’ Tess deadpans.

Charlie is momentarily confused before Tess gives her crinkly-eyed grin and he cottons on to her joke.

‘Ah, like that, is it?’ Charlie laughs. ‘You’re gonna fit in just fine around here, Tess. Probably better than Scott’.

Charlie wraps his arm around Tess’ shoulders and leads her down the hallway to the kitchen, but not before turning back and mouthing ‘Lucky I’m gay, because she is cu-ute and I would fight you for her’.

He rolls his eyes at Charlie and takes a fortifying breath as he trudges down the hallway. 

He feels a swell of pride that Tess has already won over Charlie. 

Another step closer.

*

‘Congratulations Tess, the 2019 version of our Scotty-boy is the very best version,’ Danny smirks. 

Charlie nods in agreement. 

His ears prick up and he squeezes Tess’ leg under the table. Dinner had been going so well. Too well. He knew it couldn’t last. Except for Charlie’s rubbish opening remark, his brothers have been on their very best behaviour.

What are those fuckers up to now?

‘Yeah, you’ve caught good old Dr S Moir in his prime,’ adds Charlie. 

He has no idea where this is going. But it’s nowhere good. 

‘So we thought we’d give you a highlight reel of not-so prime Scott Moir’, Danny declares with an air of mystery.

‘For fuck’s sake,’ he growls at his brothers.

‘Language!’ Alma chastises.

Danny goes in for the kill, ‘Before he was a doctor, Scott was a bit confused about how the female body worked’.

Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuck. Now he knows where this is going.

‘Very confused,’ Charlie picks up, ‘When he was seventeen he had big plans for himself and his girlfriend. His birthday was coming up and they were planning to celebrate in a close and intimate manner’.

‘Charlie,’ he warns. ‘Please don’t’.

‘But Scott’s girlfriend unexpectedly got her period and wasn’t up for sticking to their plan. So, Scott did what any self-respecting, well-educated seventeen year old boy would do’.

Danny delivers the death-knell. ‘He asked her if she could stop her period and postpone it until after the weekend’. 

The table erupts into laughter. Especially Tess. 

‘Tess and I are committing fornication and adultery!’ he blurts out before he has time to stop himself. 

Everyone at the table turns to him. 

‘Oh,’ Tess gasps.

It’s completely silent. 

Then the laughter explodes throughout the room once again. Charlie reaches over and gives Tess a hi-five. 

He wants the ground to open up and swallow him. Did he really just throw Tess under the bus in an attempt to save his own ass? He’s so embarrassed, he can’t even look at her. 

When everyone finally recovers his Dad takes charge. 

‘Scott, we already know Tess is married,’ Joe says calmly, ‘while you were helping Mom in the kitchen we discovered that Sam’s fiancé is a work colleague of mine. Small world, eh?’ 

Then his Dad throws him a bone. His wonderful, wise father gives him a ‘I know you really like her so I’m gonna help you out here’ look.

‘Tess, may I tell you about two little characters called Gabi and Gui? They’re much better behaved than my sons’.

Under the table he feels Tess slip her hand into his, she entwines their fingers and turns to him with a smile. A soft, beautiful smile, it tells him all is forgiven for his stupid outburst. He can taste the relief in his mouth. Fuck, he really likes this woman. 

‘No Joe, you haven’t. But I’d love to hear about them,’ she says.

One more step. 

The final step.

It’s happened.

He’s fallen in love with her.


	23. Bono

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Favourite songs and some firsts.
> 
> The drive home from dinner gets interesting.

As they drive away from Scott’s parents’ place she’s overcome with the feeling that all is right with the world. 

This is where she’s meant to be. Here, with the very attractive Dr Moir, sitting in his car listening to U2 thinking about what sinful things she’s going to do to him when they get home.

She feels like her world has been turned upside down in the past eight weeks. In the best possible way. Thank fuck Clare Wells got knocked up and went on maternity leave. 

‘Favourite U2 song?’ Scott asks as he grabs her hand. She loves that about him, his little touches, his purposeful physical caresses. She also loves his handsome face and his ability to make her laugh. 

The laughing. Its non-stop. It’s a joy. That’s the only way to describe it. 

‘Beautiful Day. No contest,’ she answers immediately.

‘Why?’ Scott moves her hand to rest on his thigh, smoothing his hand across the top of hers.

‘I read an interview with Bono. He described the song as being about the ability to lose everything but still find joy in what one has. He said that just like a flower can survive and maybe thrive in inhospitable conditions, the human spirit cannot be smothered, and can even persevere in hard times. I still remember the exact quote,’ she smiles.

They’re stopped at a set of traffic lights. Scott turns to her and quickly reaches across to kiss her cheek.

‘Dr Virtue, you are a spectacular human being. You bring the sunshine. And I love that about you,’ he declares. 

She thinks that’s one of the best compliments anyone has ever given her. So she tells him that. 

‘What’s your favourite U2 song. Is it really One?’ she questions.

‘It is, for lots of reasons’.

‘Tell me,’ she prompts.

‘Well, it’s not really the subject matter, cause it’s about breaking up. It’s about the way the lyrics invoke an almost visceral reaction to the hurt Bono is singing about and it’s about the melody. But more so, as a fan of the band it’s the song they claim literally brought them back from almost breaking up, so it’s symbolic of that. Plus, it reminds me of a great day I spent Mack,’ he shrugs his shoulders.

‘Those are good reasons,’ she affirms. 

There is a depth to this man that fascinates her. She thinks it’s why they never run out of things to talk about. The layers of his personality give him a warmth and genuineness she hasn’t come across often. It’s probably why he has such a fabulous bedside manner. 

‘You place or mine tonight?’ she asks.

‘Yours. But let’s stop so I can grab Milly, that way I don’t have to rush home in the morning. You don’t mind if she stays over too?’

‘Course not, the girls have been great together. Hallie will love the company and won’t fight me on sleeping in the kitchen instead of on my bed’. 

Plus she is very OK with the idea of Scott hanging around in the morning. They haven’t done a lot of that.

‘You still want us to stay over despite the fact I offered you up as a conversational sacrifice earlier in the evening?’ he jokes. 

‘I think the most important thing I took away from tonight is that I’m glad you’re not a gynaecologist.’

They look at each other and crack up.

‘Fuck off,’ he teases, ‘I was seventeen. And I really wanted to have sex for the first time on my birthday’. 

She scrunches up her face before giving him a knowing look.

‘What?’ he says slowly. 

‘Question,’ she states.

‘What are you up to?’ Scott immediately replies.

‘You could still have sex for the first time on your birthday’.

He smirks in response.

‘Hate to break it to you Tess but I think I’ve already crossed that first off my list’.

They pull up outside his house. 

‘Maybe not. What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t?’ she winks then edges her hand up his thigh.

His eyes locks with hers and he swallows.

Then he gives her a smile that is so wicked she momentarily forgets how to breathe. 

‘I have a few things in mind’.


	24. Tessa times two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are we home yet?
> 
> Almost...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, sorry for two chapters so close together. 
> 
> But it’s an emergency, right?

His eyes lock with Tessa’s and he swallows.

Then he gives her a wicked smile. 

‘I have a few things in mind’.

Motherfucker, yes he does. Three very particular things that he wants to do with Tess. In a few years time, when he looks back on this moment he’ll joke that he almost came in his pants just thinking about those three things (except it’s not a joke).

‘Stay right here, I’m going inside to get Milly,’ he instructs Tess.

‘I’ll come with you,’ she offers, releasing her seatbelt and reaching for the car door handle.

‘No,’ he snaps, ‘Very bad idea. I’ve currently got less sexual self-control than seventeen year old Scott. We have terrible track record with pitt stops. Best you stay where you are so we make it back to your place’.

She guffaws, ‘Oh my God, I am not that hot’.

He just looks at her like she’s fucking crazy. He turns to face her and holds her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

‘You are hands down the most mindblowingly attractive woman I know,’ he states with every inch of self control he can muster. 

He holds her chin tightly, primarily to keep his hand from creeping straight down to her waistband, that’s because his fingers are itching to be knuckle deep inside her. 

As is his cock. 

Holy shitballs, his cock has most definitely got plans involving everything south of Tess’ waistband. 

‘You really think so?’ Tess asks him. Her question is so genuine it’s almost heartbreaking. 

It momentarily derails his sex-laden train of thought. 

‘Oh Tess, yes,’ he implores.

She gives her shy smile.

‘And it’s not about how you look. You’re the package deal, my Darling. It’s what you do and how you think. What you look like is the icing on the cake’.

His mind immediately gets back on the sex-train. He thinks about eating out that cake. He almost volunteers how desperately he wants to go down on her. But he doesn’t. Thank fuck his sense of sincerity tells his dick to shut the hell up.

He jumps out of the car and has to push his hand deep into his pocket, for a very obvious reason. Then he jogs up his front path with the intention of being back in the car within the next sixty seconds.


	25. Milly & Hallie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a longer chapter.
> 
> Because it contains the good stuff.
> 
> At least the start of the good stuff. 
> 
> This is rated EXPLICIT.

When Hallie sees Milly bound through the front door she’s so overcome with excitement that she stumbles over her own front paws. The dogs meet in a tangle of affectionate pounces and playful growls.

‘Oh, our girls love each other,’ Tess coos as she sneaks past him and plops down onto her knees in the middle of the hallway to give both dogs a cuddle. 

He dumps his overnight bag on the floor and squats down next to Tess. 

‘You’re such silly dogs,’ he says ruffling up their coats, ‘Such awesome, silly dogs’. 

He means every word. Dogs are indeed awesome creatures. Loyal and playful and demonstrative. He and Tess’ dogs are literally just what the doctors have ordered - stress relieving companions ready with unconditional love after long days and nights at the hospital. 

Milly leaps over Hallie and plonks her paws on his shoulders. He gives her a stern look. She’s gorgeous but he’s not having a bad mannered dog. At the same time Hallie awkwardly climbs onto Tess’ lap and she’s poised to lick Tess’ face. 

‘Girls, sit’ he says firmly. 

Both dogs immediately sit, their tails madly hammering against the floor. He looks at Tess and they both try to stifle a laugh. 

‘Let’s sort out these dogs of ours and head to bed,’ Tess winks. 

*

The canine interlude was decidedly domestic. His doesn’t want to get ahead of himself but arriving home with Tess to their doggy duo is something he could definitely get used to. 

Something else he could get used to is regularly trailing behind Tess as she strips off her shirt on the way to a shared bedroom.

‘No dog induced interruptions are happening this evening,’ she states firmly, closing her bedroom door.

He grins. Bring it on.

They stand there for a moment, just looking at each other

‘Strip off to the waist,’ Tess orders as she takes off her bra.

He huffs out a small laugh as he complies. 

Once his shirt is off she steps right into his space and her nipples graze his chest.

‘Happy birthday,’ she hums.

‘Thank you,’ he answers, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

Tess stands on her tippy toes and smiles before she rests her lips against his in a soft kiss. 

‘Uh uh,’ he shakes his head. ‘Enough of being gentle for now’.

Tess signals her agreement by snatching his face in her hands, bringing their mouths together in a flurry of lips and tongues. She moves her hands to his lower back and lightly scratches her nails across his hips. 

He unhurriedly backs Tess against her bedroom door and pushes his body against hers before moving his mouth to her neck. 

He is not rushing anything this evening. 

He kisses and kisses her neck, then her face, then her collarbone, then her perfect lips before moving his mouth down to her nipples.

‘No one has ever made me feel the way you do,’ Tess’ voice seeps into the reverie of their slow breaths. 

He pushes their foreheads together while his hands move to steadily undo the buttons on her jeans. He wants his every move tonight to be intentional. Tess matches the movements by bringing her hands to his own jeans. 

‘I want to make a smart ass comment right now but I don’t have sufficient comprehension skills’ he responds between kisses.

He slowly pushes Tess’ jeans below her hips and his hands cup her backside. Tess manoeuvres his jeans down his thighs and he feels relief as his cock is unfurled from the restrictive denim. 

‘What is it you want to do to me tonight?’ she whispers.

He’s taken back to the dance floor of the annual hospital fundraiser and remembers that he used that exact phrase on Tess, telling her he had so many things he wanted to do to her. But he doesn’t feel that way anymore. 

‘I don’t want to do anything to you,’ he whispers back. 

Tess stills, obviously confused. 

‘But there are a hundred things I want to do WITH you,’ he keens, slipping his hand inside her underwear.

Tess looks into his eyes, her arms encircling his neck, ‘I want to do everything with you too’.

He can’t work out how this moment is so fucking hot and emotionally poignant at the same time. His cock is throbbing in his boxers and his heart is aching in his chest. He has a million things he wants to say to her, starting with ‘Is it too soon to say I’m in love with you?’ but he doesn’t want to talk about that when they’re about to fuck. 

So he kisses her instead. 

He kisses her like he’s trying to import the knowledge from his heart straight into her body. The kiss is slow and intentional but barely controlled.

‘I know, I think the same,’ is what Tess says when they come up for air. His heart sparks with joy. He nods and strokes her face with the back of his hand. 

‘What do you want to do with me that you’ve never done before?’ Tess murmurs, her soft hand delving down to his cock, relieving him of his boxers. 

He pivots her around so she’s facing the door. Tess gasps as his cock is pressed into lower back. He takes a small step backwards and uses his hand to rest his cock at her ass cheeks.

‘Yeah?’ she asks, grinding into him. He takes this as a very good sign. He doesn’t speak but nods against her while he kisses the back of her neck.

‘You haven’t before?’ she asks.

This time he breathes out a quiet ‘No’ into Tess’ ear. ‘Have you?’

‘Many, many times,’ she sighs, reaching her hands around and grabbing the flesh of his backside, pulling him closer to her, his cock settling between her ass cheeks.

‘I would love to do that with you,’ she turns her head and looks at his face, smiling a wicked smile. 

He almost comes just hearing her say that, cupping her tits with his hands and nestling his cock a little further against her. 

‘Fuck. Tess. I have wanted to do this for a very long time,’ he groans in her ear, ‘I’m so keyed up I’m worried it’ll be over before it even starts’.

‘It’s all good Dr Moir,’ Tess soothes ‘in the unlikely event that happens we’ll just have to do it again’.

‘Holy shit, this is gonna be the best birthday ever’.


	26. The Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Moir gets his first. 
> 
> Look away now if the smut is not your thing. 
> 
> The doctors are getting down and dirty.

He wakes to find himself in bed alone. Unless you count his morning wood, and if you do he is definitely not alone. 

The bedroom door is ajar and he can hear Tess in her kitchen. He can’t make out exactly what she’s saying but she’s talking to the dogs and has U2’s Beautiful Day playing, The Edge’s backing vocals crying out and filling the house. This makes him smile. 

Stretching out, he rolls to face away from the door so he can look out the window. The weather is perfect, a bluest of blue skies with a smattering of high cloud. 

His head falls onto Tess’ pillow as he takes in the view. It smells like her. This also makes him smile. Indeed it is a beautiful day. He rolls his eyes at his own schmaltziness.

The bedroom door opens and he slithers onto his back to sprawl across the middle of the bed. 

‘Good morning’, she sings before quickly coming to a stop ‘Oh, this room smells like sex, I’m gonna throw open these windows, that OK?’ 

‘It smells like sex because a bit of that happened in here last night’ he quips.

Windows opened, Tess climbs over the covers, and lays on top of him.

‘Undeniably,’ she kisses his nose. ‘Good sex, I hope?’

He puts both his hands behind the pillow and slowly shakes his head. Tess curiously tilts her head to the side.

‘Really good sex?’ she asks hopefully.

He shakes his head again. Tess smiles and moves in to properly kiss him.

‘Really, really good sex?’ she says against his mouth.

He nods.

‘C’mon. Up, up. These dogs aren’t gonna walk themselves’ Tess implores as she withdraws from the bed. 

Fuck, she looks so cute this morning. Hands on her hips, hair in a bun, casually dressed in leggings and a fitted t-shirt. He’s going to buy a beer for whomever it is in the universe that put he and Tess on the same path. A very large beer.

He yawns. 

‘Yep, let me jump in the shower. I’ll be five minutes’.

‘Perfect. I’ll make you some coffee,’ Tess sails out of her room. 

*

Tess’ shower has just the standard shower head. It’s not nearly as impressive as his shower. But it’s getting the job done. Soaking his tired limbs. Good tired, satisfyingly tired. Happy tired. 

His dick is still hard. Not at all helped by his recollection of last night’s sexual shenanigans. 

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. 

Tess absolutely rocked his world last night. 

His hand unconsciously moves to his cock as he thinks about the way she guided him through everything they did together. She was so self-assured and sexy, the way she confidently explained to him exactly what to do, and when, was unquestionably perfect. 

He looks down at his hand fisted over his cock. He had no idea he’d been working himself. No use stopping now. 

He goes back to the way she positioned them together. Tess telling him what she needed and how much she wanted. Laying on their sides spooned together, his cock lusciously in her ass, one of his hands teasing her nipple, his other hand with Tess’ on her intumescent clit, her head turned back talking to him while they slowly fucked together. 

It was the entire truism - an almost spiritual experience.

Thank God he didn’t come after two thrusts, but when Tess was about to come, after all those needy sighs from the back of her throat grew desperate, when she seized his hand from her clit and just used her own, when she thrust back into him with uncontrolled want and frantically urged ‘Now, come in my ass now’ his head and cock exploded at the same time. 

As it has right now. 

All over Tess’ shower wall.


	27. Elizabeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our villain Dr Rhett David makes a return...

His regular meetings with Dr Rhett David are much more palatable with Tess in his life. The level of animosity and pissed-offedness are significantly reduced now he doesn’t spend 85% of their records management session fantasising about kicking Rhett in the crotch.

He and Rhett have never discussed anything other than the best ways to collect metadata about patients, so he’s more than surprised when Rhett brings up Tess.

‘Kaitlin mentioned that you took Tessa Virtue to the annual fundraiser dinner,’ Rhett says in a voice his suspects was meant to be casual. It is not. 

The fundraiser was over ten weeks ago and he’s seen Rhett every week since then. It’s seems very odd for Rhett to raise this now. 

It makes his spidey-sense tingle. 

He hedges his bets, ‘I dunno if you’d say I took her to the fundraiser but we did sit next to each other’.

Rhett has no need to know anything about his relationship with Tess. Damned if he’s volunteering any information to the asshole that assisted his girlfriend of three years in cheating on him. 

‘Kait mentioned your were looking fairly close on the dance floor,’ Rhett tries again for casual. And fails spectacularly.

‘Yeah, we had a dance. There were a lotta people packed into that dance floor’. 

Where the fuck is this going? He knows that Rhett and Kait weren’t even there that night, it was Kait’s Dad’s big 60th birthday party. (Ironically, that he helped Kait with planning some nine months ago). He lays some bait.

‘I didn’t see you guys there that night. Which table were you on?’ he asks, nailing casual way better than Rhett did.

Surely Kait doesn’t give a shit if he is seeing someone else. Or does she? What the hell is Kait up to here? 

‘We weren’t there. Someone told us,’ Rhett says in a slow monotone, failing to look him in the eye. ‘Be careful of Tessa Virtue. She’s got a reputation‘. 

And nope, sorry Rhett, he’s not taking that bait. There is clearly something going on here. Kait can just fuck off. 

‘I think we’re done for today, eh?,’ he says firmly, placing his completed pile of paperwork into the tray marked ‘Ready for data entry’. 

‘Same time, same place next week?’ he asks the faux doctor.

Rhett says nothing. 

*

Elizabeth Anderson is a cute as a button four year old with the biggest pair of tonsils he has ever seen. Tonsillectomies are not usually his thing but as a favour to Dr Kimberley Keeble he’s assisting her at the very last minute.

He and Mack went to university with Kim, she’s an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. The wife of Kim’s regular surgical partner went into early labour, leaving her unexpectedly short-handed. 

Kim telephoned him in desperation as he was leaving the hospital to ask if he’d scrub into her last two surgeries of the day. He has the time so was happy to oblige. 

Once he was gowned and gloved he backed into the theatre and was pleasantly surprised to see Tess was the anesthesiologist. He had thought she was done for the day. 

‘Scott, this is Tessa. Tessa, meet Scott,’ Kim stated as he approached the operating table. Tiny Elizabeth was already sedated and ready to go.

‘Hey, Tess, I thought you’d be headed off by now’, he’d noted. 

‘Dr Moir, nice to see you,’ her eyes had given away her smile ‘All good, we’re just running a little late due to an early baby’.

‘You two have already met?’ Kim stated the obvious.

‘Yes,’ both he and Tess replied in a guilt-ridden unison.

Kim gave a knowing chuckle. 

It’s now fifteen minute later and he’s staring at those huge tonsils of Elizabeth’s.

‘Worried about their size?’ he enquires of Kim as he peers into the kidney shaped dish holding two apricot sized balls of tissue. 

‘Yeah, I am. Let’s send them off to pathology,’ she suggests.

‘Wise move,’ he concurs. 

Elizabeth is in for a rough recovery - the size of her tonsils means the wounds in her mouth are substantial. There is a lot of ice-cream and frozen treats in her immediate future. 

The second tonsillectomy is a text book case and he’s soon standing with Tess in the doctors’ locker room. There’s nobody else around so he gives her a quick kiss to her mouth.

‘Missed you. Haven’t seen you for three days. It’s no fun sleeping by myself at night,’ he smiles.

‘Ditto. But I’m all yours tonight, I promise,’ she bumps her hip into his. These little touches make him happy, this woman is perfection. 

‘So, a weird thing happened earlier today,’

‘Yeah? What was it?’ Tess answers distractedly as she tries to unknot her shoelace.

‘Rhett David asked me about you’.

Tess freezes. 

She looks up to him. She puts her shoe on the bench next to her thigh and sits up ramrod straight.

‘What exactly did he say to you?’ Tess asks in a stilted, measured voice. He has never heard her use that tone before. 

His spidey-sense goes off for the second time that day. 

It dawns on him. 

The realisation hits him all at once. What the fuck? He can’t believe he hadn’t thought of this earlier. 

‘Fuck. Fuck. Rhett David is the person who made those false allegations against you,’ he states with absolute certainty.

Tess doesn’t move a muscle but her eyes flick up to meet his. It’s all he needs to know.

‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’ is the first thing to leave his mouth.


	28. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout from Dr Rhett David’s behaviour escalates.

‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’ is the first thing to leave his mouth. 

He does not speak the words with compassion or generosity. He feels a transient flash of guilt at his harsh tone but he can’t help himself. 

He feels unreasonably angry. Almost betrayed. Deceived. Why would she keep this from him? 

Tess calmly gets up from the bench she’s been resting on. She stands directly in front of him, studies his expression and shakes her head. 

‘Are you angry,’ she asks incredulously, ‘at me?’

‘Fuck yes, Tess. I’m angry’ he places the heels of his palms to his forehead. 

‘At me?’ she spits, seeking confirmation.

In with anger, out with love, in with anger, out with love he chants in his head. It’s a trick his Mom taught him as a kid to calm himself. It’s doing fuck all right now, but he’s giving it a go. 

‘I’m angry with Rhett David for being the world’s biggest piece of shit. For fucking my ex-girlfriend of three years behind my back’ he storms.

Tess bristles, her mouth creases into a taut line and her shoulders tense. 

‘But I’m furious with Rhett David for fucking over my current girlfriend, for hurting you and dragging your reputation through the mud’. 

Tess’ shoulders drop down a smidgeon.

‘More than that, I’m hurt Tess. By you’.

Tess looks shocked. 

‘What? Why?’ she snaps.

He’s about to open his mouth to tell her when the door to the locker room bursts open and a flock of nurses bustle in, laughing and squawking. The nurses are completely oblivious to the friction swirling around the room.

‘Dr Virtue, let’s continue this conversation as we walk back to my office’ he says cordially.

‘Sorry Dr Moir, I’m heading home. Right now,’ Tess says non-negotiably before she strides towards the doorway.

‘Tess...’ he starts. 

But it’s too late. 

She’s already gone.


	29. The Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chasing Tess. 
> 
> It’s harder than it sounds.

Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck.

He pounds down the hospital corridor in a blur of regret and prays he doesn’t run into anyone he knows. He has zero game face and absolutely no ability to fake social niceties at the moment. He just wants to catch up to Tess. Was she a fucking Olympic athlete in another life? How’d she get away so quickly?

Like a shitfully bad dream he rounds the corner and is stopped short by a pregnant woman in a wheelchair. He pulls up just in time and literally jumps to the left to avoid her trailing IV stand. He apologises profusely but doesn’t stop moving, heading to the stairs that lead to the basement carpark.

He strides past the lifts to the carpark just as the doors serendipitously slide open, so he makes a zippy tack into the lift and repeatedly plunges his finger to the B7 button. Resting his shoulder against the lift wall, and thinking about what he’s gonna say when he catches up with Tess, he unintentionally glances to the right. 

This cannot be happening right now.

It’s Rhett fucking David.

He’s in the lift with an elderly couple. 

And Rhett fucking David. 

Rhett hasn’t seen him. He’s too engrossed in whatever is on the red clipboard in his hands.

The lift stops at the first level of the car park and the elderly couple shuffle out. Yes, he means shuffle out. He has to lurch forward and jam the Door Open button so they aren’t cut in two by the heavy metal doors. Their lashings of apologies and multitudinous thank-yous procure Rhett’s attention just as the doors finally coast shut.

It’s then that he loses his mind. 

And instantly finds it again. 

Every cell in his body is screaming at him to punch Rhett smack in the face. Hard. Incredibly hard. So very hard that he would break his own hand punching this banal cunt’s handsome face. 

But he does not. 

For three reasons.

Firstly, because his Mom and Dad raised him better than that. Secondly, because surgeons need their hands. Thirdly, Rhett David is simply not worth it.

Conscious of the cameras in the lift he pretends to be confused and makes it look like he has ‘accidentally’ hit the Emergency Stop button. The lift grinds to a swift halt.

‘You,’ he growls to Rhett, ‘are such a sad excuse for a human being that you’ve proven it’s completely impossible to underestimate you’.

Rhett looks frightened. 

He’d confess to secretly liking this, but it’s not really a secret. He’s openly glad Rhett is frightened. He’s a twat.

‘Never have I met such a deceitful, duplicitous, despicable asshole,’ he vociferates at Rhett. It feels good. He’s also super impressed with his own alliteration skills. 

‘And I’m not insulting you when I say that, I am merely describing you’. He looks directly at Rhett’s pale face as he pushes the Emergency Stop button again and the lift motor whirs back to life.

The lift arrives at his floor and as he walks out he turns and holds back the door with his arm.

‘One last thing Rhett,’ he smirks, ‘you are the reason God created the middle finger’. 

With that, he takes a perverse sense of satisfaction in giving a double handed bird to the speechless records management expert and as the lift doors glide to a close it feels like a symbolic end to the one-sided conversation.


	30. Scott & Tessa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well lovers, this is it! The penultimate chapter in our doctor saga.
> 
> I couldn't help myself. It's 1900 words. Enjoy!
> 
> Just the epilogue left to go.
> 
> I hope you loved it. I loved writing it.
> 
> Thanks for the 450+ comments. And hating Rhett. And liking the dogs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to LPM for her super helpful plot advice on this chapter. xoxox

Once he’s in his car he decides to drive straight to Tess’ place. His priority is talking with her face to face. He gonna sort this out by telling her how he feels and apologising. His gut feels shambolic - all nerves and high anxiety muddled with an undercurrent of hope. 

His brain does that incredible thing that sometimes happens when you’re driving - you find yourself at your destination but you don’t have a detailed recollection of actually getting there. He was thinking about exactly what to say to Tess and he moved into that bizarre state of consciousness where you drive safely but are deep in thought about something else. It’s probably got a proper neurological name that describes the way the brain is working, which he should know as a doctor, but he can’t recall it right now. All his brain is focused on at the moment is Tessa, Tessa, Tessa.

When he pulls up to Tess’ house he is relieved to see her car in the driveway. It’s started to rain and he doesn’t have an umbrella. He kills the engine and sits for a moment. He listens to the rain drum on the roof of his car while he orders his thoughts. He’s gonna apologise for the way he spoke, then tell Tess why he was hurt and end with the fact that he’s in love with her. Yep, that’s the game plan. 

Or should he start by telling her that he’s in love with her?

At this point raindrops obscure the windscreen and Tess’ front door is a smudge in a mottled landscape. He can’t help but flick on the car’s ignition again, engaging the windscreen wipers to swoosh away the confused scene. It only takes one swipe and Tess’ front door is revealed in perfect clarity. His heart flutters with palpitations. If he didn’t know it was a physical manifestation of his nervousness he’d be worried. He knows what his heart trying to say to him - don’t be a coward, begin with the fact you’re in love with her, you fucking moron.

He makes the wet dash to the front door and knocks three times. A couple of weeks ago he and Tess had swapped house keys but he decides to knock, he doesn’t want to act like an entitled asshole after their first proper fight. 

Hallie begins to bark and he hears her paw steps become louder as she travels down the hallway to the front door. He takes a bolstering breath as he sees Tess’ outline become clearer through the frosted glass. His stomach churns and he bounces on his toes as waits for her to open the door.

But it’s not Tess who opens the door.

It’s Sam.

*

‘Oh, fuck,’ he sighs as Sam reassuringly pats his shoulder and draws him into the house. ‘Is it so bad that she called you in for reinforcements?’

‘Non, non, no panicking necessary. A coincidence that I am here,’ Sam says calmly in his thick French accent.

It should be weird having Tess’ ex-husband answer her front door. But it’s not. He met Sam about six weeks ago, the week after his birthday (and that awesome birthday fucking). Tess suggested they all get together for a meal. He immediately liked Sam. He’s a cool guy. Sarcastic, honest and he clearly loves Tess. Loves her in a gentle, non-proprietarial way. 

Sam didn’t fuss, didn’t mark his territory or overemphasise his history with Tess, which he was completely entitled to do given all that Sam and Tess experienced together. He is a solid, secure guy who wants the best for Tess. They have that in common.

He and Tess have caught up with Sam and his fiancé for brunch a few times. And they had an awesome boozy dinner that ended with them all sleeping over at Tess’ place. He and Sam stayed up late, playing chess, drinking red wine and laughing so hard that he dropped his glass onto the floor. They made a pact not to tell Tess, which only lasted until morning given their attempts to clean up were spectacularly deficient.

‘Not to be an asshole but can I give you a bit of ex-husbandly, Tessa-Jane focused advice?’ Sam asks, politely relieving him of his saturated jacket. 

‘Please,’ he nods, the nervousness in his belly swelling to a crescendo. 

‘You know our girl is pretty unflappable about most things?’ Sam leads him into the kitchen, past the bathroom where he can hear the shower running and Tess singing.

He nods again as he takes the beer Sam passes him. He likes that Sam called Tess ‘our girl’. Likes it a lot. Others guys might be freaked out about the ex-husband talking that way but he really appreciates that Tess has Sam in her life looking out for her like this. More than that, he feels that Sam is giving him the seal of approval by using those particular words. 

‘The Rhett David incident does not fall into the ‘most things’ category. The guy is a bastard and it was a fucked up, stressful situation that remains real and raw for Tess. She almost lost her job and she’s still clawing back her reputation,’ Sam explains with a weak smile.

‘Fuck, I know, I know, I overreacted,’ he rubs the side of his face in regret. ‘I was hurt she didn’t tell me it was him. He’s the one my ex-girlfriend, Kaitlin, cheated with’.

Sam pats his hand, ‘Tess told me’. 

‘I had some choice words with Rhett back at the hospital before I came here. I also acted like a pissed teenager and gave him the double bird. Not my finest moment,’ he confesses. Sam laughs and they clink beer bottles in solidarity before they finish off their drinks.

'Ok, I must leave. You must talk with our Tessa Jane. I will give you one more, petite piece of unsolicited advice, oui?’ Sam asks with an expectant face.

‘Please, tell me. I am grateful’. 

‘Tell her how you feel,’ Sam declares. Sam leans in, embraces him and affectionately claps him on the back. Before letting go Sam speaks in his ear, ‘You are a good man Dr Moir and a much better match for our girl than I ever was. I am glad she found you’.

*

He closes the front door behind Sam and walks down the hallway to the bathroom. He stands for a second before knocking and slowly opening the door.

‘Sammy, since when do you ever knock before entering the bathroom?’ Tess laughs.

‘Hey, it’s not Sam, it’s me,’ he gently clarifies.

Tess pokes her head out of the shower. Her hair is covered in shampoo and she looks simply… well, he’s not really sure, bewitching, relieved, content… just very Tessa-esque. 

‘Oh, I wasn’t expecting you to pop ‘round. Did Sam let you in?’ she asks as she catches a rivulet of soapy water before it runs into her eye. 

‘He did. He just headed off,’ he feels nervous as he speaks. Agitatedly, increasingly, near-vomit-inducingly nervous. 

He can see the exact moment Tess figures out how he’s feeling. 

She reaches out from the shower and takes his hand and gives him the softest, kindest, love-filled smile anyone has ever given him.

‘Hey, come in here with me? Please?’

He nods and strips off his clothes, joining her under the water. Tess tips her head back to rinse the shampoo off her hair. It must take only twenty seconds for her to complete the task but it feels like an eternity. Standing so close to her, being right in her space, looking at her unadorned body, he’s hit by how beautiful she is. 

It’s just like he told her, it’s not about being naked together in the shower, it’s everything about her, the entirety of Tessa. Her heart, her soul, her everything. He can’t imagine his life without her now. These past three months have been beyond anything he imagined. The laughing and talking and dog walking and seamlessly fitting into each other’s lives (and the sex).

She opens her eyes and looks headlong into his own. He can’t do anything but lean forward and kiss her mouth. He slides his right hand into her hair and his left snakes all the way around her waist to her hip. He pulls her close to him and kisses her with every ounce of his heart. He squeezes her skin with his hands and sweeps his tongue against hers. It’s not sexual, it’s not needy, it’s just... perfect. 

When they break apart she smiles. 

‘I know we should talk about the locker room but can I say some mushy stuff first?’ she cocks her eyebrow. 

‘I would love that,’ he chuckles. 

‘When Sam and I decided to get married, I really thought I knew what being in love felt like. Sam and I both thought that we did. Then we realised we were wrong. And now, these past couple of months, I have discovered how wrong I was. As much as I love Sam, it is nothing like the way I feel about you. You make me feel like lightening is in my belly when you touch me. I have butterflies thinking about when I’m going to see you next. I dream about the future and it’s all about you. Being with you feels right. Like home. It’s safe and scary at the same time. You and I, and our dogs, hanging out on our days off, I want that. Forever’.

Tess pauses to watch his reaction and adorably shrugs her shoulders.

'I’m in love with you. But I think you know that,’ she sighs.

And there is it. Those five words from the woman he's wanted more than any other. The fireworks moment that he didn’t know he needed. But he’s so overwhelmingly happy that he got it. Never saw it coming when he first met her. Never even knew he needed her in his life. It almost doesn’t seem real. His heart palpitations are so severe he feels like he should sit down. He wills his nervous system under control. Passing out in the shower after your girlfriend tells you she’s in love with you is NOT cool.

‘My Darling,’ he smiles, cupping her face in his hands, ‘that was perfectly mushy and perfectly you. I love your tender heart and everything else about you. I’m in love with you too’.

He can’t help but wrap her up in his arms, moving her head to his shoulder. 

‘You wanna know my favourite part of your mushy speech?’ he whispers. Tess nods against his shoulder.

‘My favourite part was about the future. About us and the dogs. Forever. I want that too. I want it all Tess. I want to move into together. I want the wedding rings, one day, too. I really wanna take up that highly sought after second husband spot’.

Tess laughs and pulls her head back, this time she holds his face in her hands. She smiles and a single tear decamps from her right eye. 

‘And babies?’ she asks quietly with a shuddery breath, ‘Are babies in that future?’

He swallows hard and nods. Fuck yes. Babies. Yes, yes, yes. If he doesn’t have a heart attack right in this moment he will agree to all the babies she wants.

‘Our babies? he smiles.

Tess grins back.

He kisses her again before he answers.

‘Definitely’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that's almost it.
> 
> You're all lovely human beings for sticking around for 30 chapters!


	31. Epilogue - Edward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do the doctors get their happily ever after?
> 
> You betcha.
> 
> 4200 words of happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for reading this story.
> 
> I've fallen a little bit in love with the doctors.
> 
> It's kinda sad to let them go.
> 
> Special thanks to Rookandpawn and LPM for letting me bounce this chapter around their heads.

EDWARD

He hasn’t seen his wife for nineteen days. That’s the longest they’ve gone without seeing each other since they first met seven years ago. Fuck, he has missed her beyond words. 

He and Mack have been away, they were part of a medical team that travelled to Indonesia to provide specialist paediatric surgical support to a regional hospital. Their trip had been 18 months in the planning. It’s been long hours of fulfilling work - organising everything from pre-admission video link consults to buying then packing supplies and sourcing a competent post-op nursing team to carry on treatment after their departure.

He stumbles off the plane in an exhausted stupor, his third and final flight of the past 34 hours. When he drags his bags off the carousel one last time he does a victory dance - in his head, his body can’t be bothered. All he wants to do is get in a cab and head home. He needs the longest, hottest shower known to man and a proper coffee.

Exiting immigration and stepping into the arrivals hall he is single-mindedly focused on texting Tess to tell her he’ll be home in about an hour. He’s so tired that multitasking seems a difficult, inaccessible skill, one that is buried at the base of his brain, hopefully to be re-engaged after a decent sleep. He doesn’t see the woman with an iPad lit up with his name until she calls out to him. 

He stops and drops his bags at her feet.

‘You’re such a cliche,’ he laughs.

‘You didn’t think I’d let this moment pass, did you?’ Tess smirks. ‘The handsome doctor husband returns from his volunteer work treating sickly children in a far flung country? This situation demanded that I come and surprise you at the airport’.

Holy shit. He’s so happy to see her. So happy that he just stands there.

‘You gonna kiss me?’ Tess beams.

‘Just wanna look at you first,’ he sighs reaching for her hand. ‘I cannot explain to you how much I’ve missed you’.

She steps around his bags and takes both of his hands, wrapping them around her back so he’s holding her around the waist. 

‘I missed you too, baby,’ she winds her hands around his neck and rests her forehead against his. ‘How are you?’

‘Tired. Hungry. Happy. Dehydrated. In desperate need of a shower. Glad to be home,’ he responds. 

Tess smiles, ‘I love that you’ve always got a full deck of feelings. I’m glad you’re home too’.

He leans down and finally, finally, finalllllly, his lips touch his wife’s for the first time in nineteen desperate days. It starts off chaste but morphs into something more, their kiss reflecting how much they’ve missed each other and what they’re both looking forward to doing together when they get home. 

‘How are the kids?’ he asks when they eventually break apart. 

‘They’ve been gorgeous, mostly well behaved. But missing you. I didn’t tell them that you’d be home today. They will be beside themselves when you collect them from preschool. I can’t wait to see their faces,’ Tess' eyes light up as she speaks.

This makes his heart sing. He can't wait to see their faces either. He has an almost physical yearning to hold his kids close.

‘And what about this little guy?’ he places his hand on the bump concealed by Tess’ jacket.

‘He is no trouble at all. Never whinges about what I serve for dinner and can’t put sticky fingers on the walls,’ Tess grins. ‘I tell you, after having twins, a singleton is a walk in the park. Only eight more weeks and it’s all over’.

He collects his bags from where he dumped them on the floor. 

‘Let’s go home, my darling’. 

*

He tries with all his might to stay awake on the drive home but the comforting scent of Tess’ perfume coupled with the warm car pulls him into a dreamless sleep.

‘Oh, fuck,’ is the first thing he says when Tess wakes him with a gentle squeeze to his arm, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep’. 

‘Don’t be silly, there’s nothing to apologise for. You haven’t slept properly in almost two days’.

They clumsily clamber out of the car - Tess due to her belly and he a victim of exhaustion and what he suspects may be an ear infection. Stupid plane air.

‘Yeah, but I wanted to catch up on what you’ve been doing while I was gone’.

‘Happy to do that after you’ve had a shower and some sleep,’ Tess kisses his cheek as they walk up their front path. ‘The short version is that it was all fairly mundane. The kids and I hung out a lot with our parents. Plus Sam and Louis made us dinner every second night’.

He’s relieved to hear that Tess and the kids were well looked after. When he planned this trip they didn’t, not for one moment, envisage Tess could be pregnant while he was away. After the twins turned two they’d decided they were done - a boy and a girl - the Virtue Moir family happily complete. 

‘Look at that, eh? Your ex-husband and his husband making you dinner while your husband was away with your best friend’s husband. We’re such a cool, edgy family,’ he laughs.

Tess chortles, ‘Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kinda cool. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see Emma or the kids. They all got coxsackievirus A16’.

‘Ugh, wise move. Although not high risk it’s best pregnant women stay away from Hand, Foot and Mouth disease’.

‘Why, thank you for that advice Dr Moir,’ Tess teases.

By this stage they’ve made it into the house, fought off the over-excited dogs and unpacked his clothes into the washer. 

‘I’m gonna have a coffee, then a shower,’ he announces taking Tess’ hand and planting a soft kiss to her knuckles.

‘Nope, no coffee for you. Shower and bed please. Coffee later,’ Tess bosses.

‘Can I convince you to join me in the shower?’ he wiggles his eyebrows.

‘Of course,’ Tess kisses his mouth before pushing him away, ‘but not now. Later’.

‘Later is an over used word in this conversation,’ he huffs, climbing the stairs. 

‘Sweet dreams,’ she calls after him. 

*

He’s woken by two very familiar voices and the feeling of two little bodies climbing onto the bed.

‘Momma, he’s still sleeping,’ whispers Corinne.

‘It’s OK, you can wake him. Daddy will be so excited to see you both,’ encourages Tess.

‘Can we? Can we?’ bounces Ethan.

‘Sure can,’ Tess confirms.

Oh, shit. He fell asleep again? He had woken to go to the bathroom, intending to get up and help Tess collect the kids from pre-school. But that obviously didn’t go to plan. Tess is an angel for letting him sleep so long. He feels so much better. Thank fuck his ear isn’t bothering him anymore. 

He keeps his eyes closed, desperate to see how this plays out. He can’t wait to scoop up their kids in his arms. 

On his right he can feel Corinne crawl up the bed until she’s kneeling beside his head. He’s not sure what’s going on until he feels her little hand on his chin. Her warm breath ghosts his cheek before her hair falls across his face and she kisses his eyelids, one then the other. It melts his heart. 

‘Daddy, wake up. You’re home now,’ she whispers. 

‘It’s not working. Let me do it,’ asserts Ethan from his left side, ‘I’m the oldest, I can do it right’. 

‘You are the same age as me,’ scoffs Corinne ‘they just took you out of Momma’s tummy first. That’s not really older, is it Mom?’ 

Before Tess can answer he flashes his eyes open and springs to sitting, capturing a twin in each arm. 

‘Omigoodness! It’s the same!’ he drawls. ‘We’ve spoke about this SO,‘ he smacks a kiss to Corinne’s head, ’MANY,’ he smacks another kiss to Ethan’s head, ‘TIMES. You are both four. No fighting about who is older please’.

‘Daddy!’ they squeal in unison ‘we missed you so much’. 

Corinne and Ethan may be fraternal twins but they are definitely displaying some classic twinniness behaviour, the simultaneous speaking currently the most prominent.

They pile on top of him, smothering his face in kisses and telling him again and again how much they missed him. Tess smiles from the edge of the room, leaning on the doorframe, rubbing her swollen belly.

‘I missed you both too. Did you take good care of Mommy and the little guy?’

‘Uhuh,’ nods Ethan, ‘we went to the baby doctor and we listened to his heartbeat and Uncle Sam got to come too’. 

‘Uncle Sammy was so funny in the car. He sat in the back with us and called Mommy our chauffeur. He didn’t call her Tess all day, he called her Driver,’ Corinne laughs.

He looks to Tess and she rolls her eyes and nods. Sam’s a great guy. He’s so thankful that their kids have Sam and Louis in their lives.

‘When we heard the heartbeat it sounded so fast, like a horse, so Uncle Sam said he was going to give the baby the nickname ‘Clippity-Clop,’ Ethan adds.

He looks to Tess again and she just shrugs her shoulders in amused resignation.

Corinne snuggles under his arm and plays with his fingers. ‘Did you help lots of sick kids while you were away?’ her huge brown eyes looking up at him.

‘Sure did, darling,’ he smiles.

‘We’re happy you went on your trip Daddy,’ Ethan clambers onto his lap and wraps his arms around his neck. ‘But we’re more gladder that you’re back’.

‘I’m happy to be back too,’ he promises.

*

Tess first pregnancy stretched out for the full nine months. This pregnancy has flown by. Corinne and Ethan proving to be a delightful distraction. 

He’s trying to do everything he can to support Tess and make her feel like she’s the centre of his universe. To be honest, it almost seems too easy. There is none of the ‘first baby’ stress, none of the over planning, none of over thinking. It’s just enjoyable. Tess is happy and relaxed. It feels good.

Just like watching a movie montage, all of a sudden Tess is 39 weeks and she’s on the precipice of delivering this much longed for baby. 

He gets a tap on the back in the middle of the night. It’s go time. This never happened with the twins, they were both breech, delivered via a planned c-section. It was calm and civilised - to the extent a birth can be. 

He rolls over to face Tess and runs his finger over her cheek, ‘I know we’ve done all the preparation and talked about how you want today to go. But I want to make two things really clear’.

‘OK,’ she says quietly.

‘Firstly, I’m so proud of you. You are an amazing human being. I’m so lucky to help you do this‘.

Tess leans forward and kisses his mouth, ‘I couldn’t have done it without you. Truly. Thank you’. 

‘And secondly, I know we’ve talked a lot about his birth. A lot. And I’m glad. But I want to remind you that you can change your mind about any part of the birth plan. OK? Go with what you need and what feels right. I will do anything you need me to do’.

‘I know, I know,’ Tess breathes. Then she breathes more deeply, another contraction starting.

‘I’m gonna call your Mom, yeah?’ he asks.

‘Yep. Good plan,’ she grunts. She is talking through the contractions. They still have plenty of time before they need to leave, but holy shit, this is really happening.

*

It’s weird, as a doctor, to be involved in the delivery of a baby. He completed an obstetrics rotation during his studies but hasn’t seen a baby be delivered vaginally since then. Clearly, this is different, he’s not here in his capacity as a doctor. 

His role is to support Tess. His incredible wife has done so much hard work to get to this point. She’s attacked this process just like she prepares for her work. Reading up on VBAC deliveries, talking through pros and cons with specialists, researching options. He loves her careful, considerate heart.

Tess had decided she wanted Sam to join them for the delivery. She wanted to labour, just the two of them, up to the stage of pushing, then invite Sam to join them for the ‘home stretch’ as she called it. He hadn’t given this a second thought, he was on board with whatever Tess needed to get this baby here. 

But as with lots of things in life, things don’t always go to plan. Tess gets to 9cm and she starts to get agitated. Highly agitated. He’s never seen her like this and he’s finding it distressing. But he is wearing his best game face, the one he gives the theatre nurses when shit hits the fan during surgery. It’s not just the pain, well, of course, it’s definitely the pain, but he suspects the main problem is that Tess is having second thoughts about Sam joining them. 

‘This is way, way harder than I expected,’ Tess sobs into his shoulder between contractions, ‘I’m not sure I can keep going’. 

The contractions are reaching fever pitch, almost on top of each other and he wants to keep Tess focused. They need to sort this out right now. 

‘Darling, look at me,’ he instructs as soon as a contraction finishes, ‘Sam doesn’t have to be in this room’. He wants to be as clear as he can be, this is not the time for pussy-footing around.

‘But I told him he could be here,’ Tess sobs again, tears coursing down her face.

‘It’s OK to change you mind,’ he assures her. ‘It’s better to change you mind if it’s going to help you safely deliver the baby’. 

Another contraction takes over and Tess moans her way through it. When it’s passed he starts again.

‘Do you want Sam in the room? Or just us?’ he asks plainly.

‘You, I just want you. I just need you,’ she immediately answers, her gaze focused, looking straight into his eyes. 

He’s relieved. He feels guilty to admit it. But he also wants it to be just the two of them. He has a deep desire to take care of his wife, to make it better. He knows in his gut this is the right decision. He kisses her forehead. 

‘OK, then it’s just us,’ he nods. 

When he looks back on this moment he’ll agonise over the relief he felt, before finally coming to peace with it when he accepts it was exactly what Tess needed to get into the right headspace to deliver the baby.

‘Thank you for taking care of me,’ she whimpers against his cheek.

‘I would do anything and everything to make sure you’re well taken care of,’ he blinks back his own tears. 

He feels Tess nod her head against his own. 

‘I’m going to go and tell Sammy. Then I’m coming straight back and your gonna have this baby, eh?’

‘Good plan,’ Tess whispers.

*

Holy shit.

Women are fucking rock stars. 

If there was a medical miracle and men could have babies he’d be running in the other direction. Fast. Very fucking fast. 

It’s feels like they’ve been in this delivery suite for three days and that Tess has been pushing for the past nine hours. But in actual fact they arrived at the hospital seven hours ago and she’s only been pushing for thirty minutes. 

‘Sweet Jesus, if I ever do this again I’m getting an epidural,’ Tess pants in the minuscule break between constructions. ‘This is fucking insane, why did I agree to do this?’ 

‘If you ever give birth again, I will personally prescribe you all the drugs. Every last one. You got this, Tess,’ is all he can offer. 

Each contraction is like a stab to his heart, each one a small step forward into the unknown. He’s suddenly petrified about how this is going to end. 

Tess is not being the strong and silent type as the baby is crowning. She calls out in a low, primal way that gives him goosebumps.

‘That’s his head Tessa,’ the obstetrician announces. 

‘Please don’t leave me if I never want to have sex again,’ she says as her head flops back against the raised bed.

He can’t help but laugh. Fuck. She’s amazing, even in the middle of all the bodily fluids, and the most selfless thing he’s ever seen one human being do for another, she’s still quintessentially ‘Tess’.

‘Huge push for the shoulders now’.

Tess pushes and the sound she makes is indescribable. He feels it in his soul and it stays with him for days afterwards. It’s a mixture of pain and relief and sadness. 

‘Great job Tessa, he’s here,’ the midwife announces.

It’s over. 

Her job is done.

He looks to the squirming baby between her legs. Ten fingers. Ten toes. He grabs Tess’ face and kisses her firmly on the mouth.

‘I can’t believe you did that. I mean I knew you were going to do that, I knew there would be a baby at the end. But holy shit, there is a baby right there. A baby. You are fucking incredible,’ he rambles.

At that Tess breaks out into a delighted giggle, ‘I know, right? That was horrendous. What the fuck was I thinking? Is he OK?’

She looks at him with her tired eyes, blood smeared up her legs and a smile all over her face.

'He's prefect,' the obstetrician declares.

‘Shit, I am pumped. I’m so happy right now’. He turns to one the midwives, ‘Can we please get Sam in here straight away?‘ She nods and ducks out of the room.

The cord is cut and the baby is wrapped in a blanket. A midwife passes him the baby. He feels the tears run down his face. 

‘Hello baby,’ he coos before breaking out into a laugh. ‘He doesn’t look anything like the twins. I knew he wouldn’t but I’m still surprised’.

Tess makes grabby hands and he walks the baby up the other end of the bed so Tess can see him.

‘Oh, you are handsome,’ Tess says as she runs her finger over his crinkled brow and pouty mouth. She studies the baby silently for a second. 

His heart clenches in his chest. Please don’t let her ask to hold the baby, please don’t let her ask to hold the baby his mind chants. After seeing everything she went through to get him here he doesn’t think he’d be able to refuse her request. 

But she doesn’t, of course she doesn’t, the four of them had talked endlessly with the psychologist about what Tess wanted in the moments immediately after he was born. She didn’t think she should hold him. Made them promise they wouldn’t let her hold him.

Instead she smiles, her genuine smile, the one that lights up her entire face.

‘Hello there baby boy, I’m your Aunty Tess and this is your Uncle Scott’.

*

She will often tell people that one of the greatest joys of her life was seeing Scott pass Sam and Louis their son. 

Her and Scott’s decision that she would carry Sam and Louis’ baby was both the easiest and hardest decision they’d ever made.

There was endless fascination from family and friends about the details of their arrangement but everyone was overwhelmingly supportive. 

No, the egg was not hers.

No, they would not do it a second time.

Yes, Edward was legally Tessa’s until she gave him up for adoption to Sam and Louis.

No, she never once considered herself Edward’s mother.

Yes, they carefully planned the birth, even though it didn’t exactly go to plan.

No, Edward didn’t stay in her hospital room, he stayed on a different floor with his Dads.

Yes, their kids understood from the start that the baby was not their brother, in fact they started asking pregnant women if the baby they were carrying was for their family or their uncles.

What she doesn’t share with people are the moments that she and Scott shared once Sam and Louis had taken Edward into the delivery suite next door. While they got to know their son, that she quietly delivered the placenta, her hand in Scott’s, with lots of tears.

And it was sad. 

Even though she knew what would happen, it was sad and empty and it hurt her heart. 

They didn’t share that once she’d showered and was laying back in bed, that Scott climbed next to her. Her incredible husband, who had partnered with her in doing this favour for Sam and Louis, he had her back the entire time. 

‘I love you,’ he’d nuzzled into her neck. 

‘I love you too. You know, you looked pretty cute holding a newborn,’ she’d whispered, ‘it suits you’.

He’d propped himself up on his elbow. 

‘They told us this would happen. Of course, I’m adorable, but this is the hormones talking, remember? A natural, emotional coping mechanism. No rash decisions or overthinking about more babies, OK?’ Scott had gently responded with a sweep of his hand down her arm.

‘I know. You’re right. But can we just leave a tiny window open, maybe we can revisit the idea in six months?’ she’d suggested. 

‘Right now, you could ask me for anything and I’d do it for you,’ Scott had squeezed her tight. ‘In a way the easy part is done. These next few weeks are going to be tough, you’ve gotta keep talking to me, OK?’

‘I know. I will. And I have the psychologist appointment every third day for the next two weeks. Though the main issue I want to discuss with her is my fear of ever having sex again, rather than the fact I just had a baby for another couple’.

At this Scott had burst out laughing, ‘Just one day at a time, darling. Together. With all of it’.

So they took one day at a time. Going home the next day, without a baby, was expected but strange. Her research had led her to decide that she wouldn’t see Edward until her milk had dried up. She didn’t want her body’s normal physical reaction to complicate things. She dutifully took the milk suppressing medication, Scott took three weeks off work and they took the twins out of preschool. They hung out as a family, played Uno, watched Disney movies and kept busy. 

She slept a lot and spoke to Sam almost everyday - mostly about Edward and sometimes about other things and sometimes about the guilt she felt at not having Sam and Louis in the room when she delivered Edward. There was no judgement, they understood completely, she got their baby into the world, she did what she needed to do. 

She met with her psychologist as they had planned, talked through how she felt, she physically healed and their world slowly tilted back towards its usual axis.

One afternoon, two and a half weeks after Edwards’s birth, Sam and Louis unexpectedly arrived at their front door, except it wasn’t unexpected at all, it was arranged by Scott. It was perfect. 

She held Edward and she cried. A lot. She cried because she was happy, and the look in Sam’s eyes nudged out the fleeting feeling of emptiness in her heart. 

‘You’ve changed my life forever,’ Sam had said while he embraced her from behind as she later stood in the kitchen, filling the kettle. ‘So many times over so many years, you’ve changed my life, Tess. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you. Thank you for having our baby’.

She’d just nodded, overwhelmed that it had all worked out how they’d planned. Edward was here safely. Sam and Louis were parents. As she went to speak they were interrupted by Corinne, ‘Uncle Sammy, Uncle Louis needs your help. Eddie has done a huge poo and it’s all over his clothes. It’s disgusting’. 

Four year olds call it as they see it.

Sam left the room and Corinne stared at her mother with her father’s eyes. ‘Momma, it was very kind of you to carry Uncle Sam and Uncle Louis’ baby. Good job. Edward is so cute but he is noisy and smelly, I’m glad he is going home with them and not staying here’. 

And with that comment, life went on. She didn’t raise the idea of another baby again. Not six months after. Not twelve months after. Their home was busy, the twins turned five, then six, work was satisfying and life was full. She was content and another baby was far from her mind.

Until one night, when they were fucking, she in Scott’s lap, her legs wrapped around his waist, their bodies fused together and their faces close. Scott whispered into her ear, ‘I’m so happy, I love you so much, let’s have another baby’. 

And it just felt right. 

It was time. 

The words tumbled out of her, spilling her hopes into his mouth faster than she could stop them.

‘Yes, yes please,’ her heart sparked with joy, ‘I would really love to do that’. 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you see it coming?
> 
> Did you?
> 
> Did I make it work?
> 
> Let me know in the comments.
> 
> xoxoxox

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit on twitter @walkinrobe1


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